one that comes to mind is Dwayne mccorkendale. If he had a cellphone he wouldn't have stopped at the rest stop to make a phone call.

Also Angela Hammond comes to mind. If I remember correctly she was abducted while at a pay phone

Elizabeth Campbell. She wouldn't have needed to use the phone outside the gas station if she had a cell phone. Could have used it to call from inside and wait for her parents to pick her up instead of walking down the road where she ended up abducted.

I think most cases that occurred in broad daylight near crowds could have been completely different.

The "alert bystander with a cell phone" could have prevented Michaela Garecht's abduction, Kenneth Dungee's death , and many others. I'm guessing the list would be pretty sizeable.

Trudy Darby probably scares off her culprit if she is that scared that she starts recording the guy standing outside of her store. Angela Hammond obviously is another one. Michaela Garecht comes to mind. Not that these cases happened all of the time in the 1980s either, but the odds of someone snatching up a child in a parking lot in 2023 is much less than it was then. Nyleen Kay Marshall might be another one. The risk of someone having a phone is something that might stop a suspected kidnapper in a park.

Dick Hansen would have called the cops on his cell phone with that guy chasing him on the highway. Or his girlfriend would have at least.

Larry Race possibly could have made a call with his boat sinking. I believe the segment said he was just a mile out. That's not far.

The Wackers could have recorded things with a cell phone. Maybe caught the guy on camera.

Now, on the flip side you also have to point out the things that would happen today that didn't happen back then because of cell phones/internet. Children are probably safer than they have been in our lifetimes at a park because no one wants to snatch a kid and get caught on camera, but these days it has never been easier to lure a minor to a location where you want to meet them. Probably more car accidents with cell phones too.

Ellen Fried, one of the victims of the Connecticut River Valley killer, was abducted in almost the exact same way as Angela Hammond. On a payphone outside a business late at night, a car circling around the block over and over which started to concern her. The only difference here was this killer waited for her to hang up the phone before he struck.

It wasn't mentioned in the segment but the book said Ellen lived in a little trailer that didn't have a phone. So when she would get off her late shift at the hospital (she was a nurse) if she wanted to call loved ones, she'd stop by a payphone anywhere in Claremont and call.

She'd be alive today if cell phones were around in 1984.

Ellen Fried, one of the victims of the Connecticut River Valley killer, was abducted in almost the exact same way as Angela Hammond. On a payphone outside a business late at night, a car circling around the block over and over which started to concern her. The only difference here was this killer waited for her to hang up the phone before he struck.

It wasn't mentioned in the segment but the book said Ellen lived in a little trailer that didn't have a phone. So when she would get off her late shift at the hospital (she was a nurse) if she wanted to call loved ones, she'd stop by a payphone anywhere in Claremont and call.

She'd be alive today if cell phones were around in 1984.

Or even if she just had a proper landline.

If John Cheek disappeared in the past 15-20 years or so, I wonder if they could have located him by 'pinging' his cell phone. A person in his line of work would definitely have one. Who knows, he may even have had one back in '93. Though I don't think 'pinging' was a thing in the 90s...

If John Cheek disappeared in the past 15-20 years or so, I wonder if they could have located him by 'pinging' his cell phone. A person in his line of work would definitely have one. Who knows, he may even have had one back in '93. Though I don't think 'pinging' was a thing in the 90s...

Not with those cell phones the size of a block of cheese! :lol: