A horror movie come to life

The News Tribune ^ | June 20, 2007 | Sean Robinson

[goodnesswins]

A horror movie come to lifeThree Fircrest families receive death threats via cell phone. Even when the phones are off. Even when they get new phones.

SEAN ROBINSON; The News Tribune Published: June 20th, 2007 06:15 AM

Enlarge image Alison Yin/The News TribuneHeather Kuykendall and her daughter, Courtney, 16, display the cell phones they’ve abandoned in an attempt to cut off a stream of threatening messages from mysterious harassers. Courtney started receiving the calls in February. Other families have gotten them, too. Investigators suspect it’s an elaborate hoax.

Maybe it’s just a long-running prank, but the reign of terror endured by three Fircrest families buries the needle on the creepy meter. For four months, the Kuykendalls, the Prices and the McKays say, they’ve been harassed and threatened by mysterious cell phone stalkers who track their every move and occasionally lurk by their homes late at night, screaming and banging on walls.

Police can’t seem to stop them. The late-night visitors vanish before officers arrive. The families say investigators have a hard time believing the stalkers can control cell phones without touching them and suspect an elaborate hoax. Complaints to their phone companies do no good – the families say they’ve been told what the stalkers are doing is impossible.

It doesn’t feel impossible to Heather Kuykendall and her sister, Darci Price, who’ve saved and recorded scores of threatening voice mails, uttered in throaty, juvenile rasps stolen from bad horror films.

Price and Kuykendall have given the callers a name: “Restricted.” That’s the word that shows up on their caller ID windows: on the land lines at home, and on every one of their cell phones.

Their messages, left at all hours, threaten death – to the families, their children and their pets.

“They tell us that they see us,” Kuykendall said Tuesday. “They tell us that they know everything we’re doing.”

It’s gotten so bad the sisters’ parents have offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who identifies the culprits.

The stalkers know what the family is eating, when adults leave the house, when they go to baseball games. They know the color of shirt Courtney Kuykendall, 16, is wearing. When Heather Kuykendall recently installed a new lock on the door of the house, she got a voice mail. During an interview with The News Tribune on Tuesday, she played the recording.

The stalkers taunted her, telling her they knew the code. In another message, they threatened shootings at the schools Kuykendall’s children attend.

“I’m warning you,” one guttural message says. “Don’t send them to school. If you do, say goodbye.”

Somehow, the callers have gained control of the family cell phones, Price and Kuykendall say. Messages received by the sisters include snatches of conversation overheard on cell-phone mikes, replayed and transmitted via voice mail. Phone records show many of the messages coming from Courtney’s phone, even when she’s not using it – even when it’s turned off.

Price and Kuykendall say the stalkers knew when they visited Fircrest police and sent a voice-mail message that included a portion of their conversation with a detective.

The harassment seems to center on Courtney, but it extends to her parents, her aunt Darcy and Courtney’s friends, including Taylor McKay, who lives across the street in Fircrest. Her mother, Andrea McKay, has received messages similar to those left at the Kuykendall household and cell phone bills approaching $1,000 for one month. She described one recent call: She was slicing limes in the kitchen. The stalkers left a message, saying they preferred lemons.

“Taylor and Courtney seem to be the hub of the harassment, and different people have branched off from there,” Andrea McKay said. “I don’t know how they’re doing it. They were able to get Taylor’s phone number through Courtney’s phone, and every contact was exposed.”

McKay, a teacher in the Peninsula School District, said she and Taylor recently explained the threats to the principal at Gig Harbor High School, which Taylor attends. A Gig Harbor police officer sat in on the conversation, she said.

While the four people talked, Taylor’s and Andrea’s phones, which were switched off, sat on a table. While mother and daughter spoke, Taylor’s phone switched on and sent a text message to her mother’s phone, Andrea said.

The Kuykendalls and Prices report similar experiences. Richard Price, Darcy’s husband, is a 26-year military officer, assigned to McChord Air Force Base. On a recent trip to the base, the stalkers sent him a message.

“McChord needs us,” the voice said.

Mari Manley, 16, one of Courtney’s close friends, is another victim of the harassment. She tried to avoid the calls by ignoring her phone. Late one night, she heard the phone making an unfamiliar noise. Her ringtone had changed.

“Answer your phone,” a guttural voice said. Manley saved the ringtone, and played it during an interview Tuesday.

The families and their friends have adopted a new routine: They block the cameras on their phones with tape. They take out the batteries to stop the calls. The Prices and Kuykendalls returned all their corrupted phones to their wireless company and replaced them with new ones. The threatening messages kept coming.

Fircrest Police Chief John Cheesman is familiar with the case and knows the families. His department is working the case with the Tacoma Police Department and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, he said. The agencies filed a search warrant for the phone records, but they didn’t reveal much. Many of the calls and text messages trace back to Courtney’s phone, which the family believes has been electronically hijacked.

Cell phone technology allows remote monitoring of calls, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Known as a “roving bug,” it works whether a phone is on or off. FBI agents tracking organized crime have used it to monitor meetings among mobsters. Global positioning systems, installed in many cell phones, also make it possible to pinpoint a phone’s location within a few feet.

According to James M. Atkinson, a Massachusetts-based expert in counterintelligence who has advised the U.S. Congress on security issues, it’s not that hard to take remote control of a wireless phone. “You do not have to have a strong technical background for someone to do this,” he said Tuesday. “They probably have a technically gifted kid who probably is in their neighborhood.”

Courtney Kuykendall says she has no idea who the stalkers are, though she knows police are suspicious. She believes someone followed her at school – a man in a hooded sweatshirt with a beard.

“They’re accusing my daughter of threatening her own family,” Heather Kuykendall said.

“Why would I do that?” Courtney said. “Why would I do that to people I care about? Why would I harass my own family?”

[goodnesswins]

Maybe with all the brains here on FR this can get solved.

[bk1000]

Either the daughter or one of her ‘friends’. No surprises here.

[goodnesswins]

Actually, it appears it must be someone who has broken into the cell phone companies database, or has inside access....it’s a little more complicated than just one of their “friends.”

[HungarianGypsy]

BTTT

[jiggyboy]

The FBI story referenced above:

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6140191.html

[B-Chan]

It appears that the stalkers have the victims’ homes and cars bugged.

[Resolute Conservative]

Evidently not an alpha male in the house. Only takes one outside my house event and they would be caught the next time.

[AU72]

May be worth spending some money to hire an industrial espionage investigation firm to find the perps.

[alice_in_bubbaland]

Scary! How do the harassers know when they leave the house or the lime vs lemons comment? I wonder if all the families have the same cell phone company? I’m not sure what I would or could do if put in the same situation.

[A_perfect_lady]

I have to say, the first thing I’d do is just get rid of all the cellphones. No wait, the first thing I’d do is buy a gun. Second thing I’d do is get rid of the cellphones.

[Shelayne]

What if they changed their cell-phone provider and their home phone number?

This is very strange. Has Courtney received any of these harassing calls when other people were around her, I wonder? By the same token, has any one received these calls-traced to Courtney’s phone- when Courtney cound NOT have been on the calling end? That would make it much less likely that she is involved in this.

[Grammy]

" ...occasionally lurk by their homes late at night, screaming and banging on walls."

My first reaction would be to place a nice large bear trap out there while I was gardening.

[Shelayne]

That is a better response than mine. Though, I still would have my land-line number changed and unlisted.

[boxerblues]

While the four people talked, Taylor’s and Andrea’s phones, which were switched off, sat on a table. While mother and daughter spoke, Taylor’s phone switched on and sent a text message to her mother’s phone, Andrea said.

It switched on by itself and sent a message to her mothers phone....creepy does not begin to describe this

[Farmer Dean]

Same here.My only problem would be chosing between calling the coroner or firing up the neighbor’s backhoe.

[Shimmer128]

a man in a hooded sweatshirt with a beard.

Of course. This is almost a parody of a teen flick.
If it’s true, get the gun and get rid of the cell phones. I wouldn’t hesitate to do either.

[PeterFinn]

Wow. So my paranoia about having a cell phone wasn’t misplaced. Amazing.

[Shelayne]

McKay, a teacher in the Peninsula School District, said she and Taylor recently explained the threats to the principal at Gig Harbor High School, which Taylor attends. A Gig Harbor police officer sat in on the conversation, she said.

While the four people talked, Taylor’s and Andrea’s phones, which were switched off, sat on a table. While mother and daughter spoke, Taylor’s phone switched on and sent a text message to her mother’s phone, Andrea said.

OK, now that is downright freaky!

[Al Gator]

I smell another “victim” that has been victimizing themself for sympathy.

They’ll catch one or the other at it.

She’ll say she did it because she was afraid the other chick was gonna bail.....

Betcha!

[bicyclerepair]

Morons!

Remove cell batteries when not in use. Dumb@sses.

Install video cameras everywhere. And of course be ARMED!!!!

This bs wouldn’t get this far if I lived there.

[Muzzle_em]

Obviously someone who works for the cell phone company or a computer hacker/stalker.

[AUJenn]

Now this is just the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard. That would drive me mad!

[Truth is a Weapon]

State of Washington. I just knew this had to be from a state without a “make my day” law.

[Cecily]

“... and occasionally lurk by their homes late at night, screaming and banging on walls.”

Somebody would eventually be leaving my home after “screaming and banging on walls” sporting paintball stains or large guard dog bites. If this is not a hoax, these people need to go “Pacific Heights” on the perpetrators. Go on the offense.

[Jeffrey_D.]

It’s easy to have a knee-jerk reaction to this, but there are a few points that are a little weird.

I need more time to think....this is strange!

[lowbridge]

The families and their friends have adopted a new routine: They block the cameras on their phones with tape. They take out the batteries to stop the calls. The Prices and Kuykendalls returned all their corrupted phones to their wireless company and replaced them with new ones. The threatening messages kept coming.

"Get out of here, Finchley."

[Durus]

Nothing mentioned in the story is technically difficult given the proper equipment however the proper equipment is expensive and usually only needed by cellphone companies and retailers.

[Horatio Gates]

“They’re accusing my daughter of threatening her own family,” Heather Kuykendall said.

Ummm....I didn't see anything about an accusation of anything. Without a search warrant the phone companies won't give you squat.

[AUJenn]

I agree, there are some weird points. Have any neighbors seen anyone lurking around the house? Strange cars parked outside?

In college, we had a “stalker” who entered our home when we (4 female roomates) were out. He/she took odd things from the house. Lights would be left on when we knew we turned them off, photos would be missing, etc. Our next-door neighbors came to us one morning and said they’d seen someone in our back yard the night before.

We filed a police report, but nothing came of that. When we changed the locks, everything stopped. To this day, we think it was an old tenant of the house who still had a key and let himself in.

[PissAndVinegar]

Replacing the corrupted phones works until they get the same virus/text message that corrupted the first phone.

Change the phone (model/brand) and number....

The details are muddied but I can tell we’re not dealing with the sharpest bunch here. Chances are it started joke but when the harasser discovered he/she can make them jump, he just kept on with it...

[Just another Joe]

You can get the calling phone number on a landline phone by answering the call, hanging up, picking back up before another call comes in and pressing *57. This initiates a trace on the calling number and puts it in a log on the telephone switch, even if the Caller ID says restricted or anonymous or whatever else.

You will have to contact the police and have them contact the phone company to get the phone company to give them the number out of the log.

You can also spoof a calling number using Voice Over IP and the right software on a computer. (Calls from her own cell phone.)

[wardaddy]

i thought this would be about the Knoxville race murders

[freekitty]

Very strange. I would be looking at the daughters or someone in the family.

[lowbridge]

This reminds me of a ghost story I read in a book of "True Ghost Stories". I no longer have that book and unfortunately I don't remember the title nor all of the story. It involved a US Senator(the book refused to give out the name of the Senator or which state he represented) whose mother died. She was found dead of a heart attack, face down in her front lawn (she was an invalid, so how she got outside on her front lawn was a mystery). As the estates executor, he went to her house in Conneticut (the book specifically mentions Conneticut, but it could be that the author did that to throw the reader off from discovering the Senators true identity) to take care of his mothers estate and belongings.

Inside the house, in the living room, on a small table was one of those old type of stand up telephones.

Kinda like this one:

Also on the table was an envelope addressed to the Senator, left there by the Senators mother. He opened it and in it his mother wrote all about her terrible secret that she kept from the entire family all of those years. She admitted to having a child out of wedlock when she was still a teenager. She managed to ingeniously keep the pregnancy hidden from her family, but on the day she gave birth, it was on the families property, but she was all alone. In a barn, I believe. After the child was born, the woman plunged a knife into the chest of the infant (it was a girl) and then buried the body of the baby right there on the property, only a few feet from where she killed it. The woman, grew up, got married, had other children, etc. After her last child had left the nest and after her husband had died, that's when the hauntings began, according to the mothers letter.

The spirit of the child she had killed, would call her up on the antique phone and talk to her . "She would call me every day".........I know that I am going to die soon", the mother wrote to her son in the letter, "...She will come to me. I will see her and I will die". After the Senator finished reading the letter, the antique phone rang. The Senator froze in fright because looking at the telephone, he could see that it wasn't connected to an outlet, or anything. The phone patiently kept on ringing, waiting for him to answer. It took him a while to work up the courage to pick up the phone to talk into it:

Senator: Hello?
Girls spirit: She killed me.
S: What?
G: Killed me. Murdered me.

And thats about all I can remember from the story.

[Ignatz]

I wasn't aware that cell phones could be powered on remotely. How is that accomplished?
Also, someone here mentioned a cell phone virus...is there such a thing?

[lowbridge]

Mob rat, Sammy Gravano, wrote in his auto-biography about the time his family had to deal with an obscene phone caller at his home. They would change the number only to have the pervert still calling up. Finally, Sammy staked out his own house when he discovered how the obscene caller managed to get the new numbers. It seems that at a distance from the house, at a certain point on the road, one can see into the house, and see the phone where they labeled their phone number. They changed their number again, this time not bothering to put the number on the phone and the harrassing calls stopped.

If I was Sammy, I would have changed the number, put the new number on the phone, and then staked out the spot where the obscene caller could observe the phone. Then give the caller a really good beating when he showed up to get the new number.

[swmobuffalo]

I work with a woman who has been putting up with this same type of thing for over a year. The law enforcement told her that until “something actually happens” they WON’T do anything about it.

Since the stalker has now taken to tying up the phone line at work when she’s there, the boss has stepped in and there should be some action by the end of the week. The phone company is tracing the calls and the lawyer is working on it.

[goodnesswins]

Yes, interesting....the FBI can do it....which leads people to think this is an INSIDE job. But, what someone else said is interesting, also....seems there is no MAN around the house. And, y’all should go to the link....and look at the Mom and daughter picture....

[goodnesswins]

Link to story here....

http://www.thenewstribune.com/front/topphoto/story/91460.html

[Aquinasfan]

According to James M. Atkinson, a Massachusetts-based expert in counterintelligence who has advised the U.S. Congress on security issues, it’s not that hard to take remote control of a wireless phone. “You do not have to have a strong technical background for someone to do this,” he said Tuesday. “They probably have a technically gifted kid who probably is in their neighborhood.”

Did they have to put this at the end of the story?

[Paisan]

I would be looking at the daughters or someone in the family.

Same here. This is typical of Poltergeist activity, usually involving a child. Though considered a spiritual manifestation the problem is always traced to an adolescent’s activities and is attributed to a subconscience need for attention.
Reminds me of a story in Readers Digest involving a family with a teenage daughter. Strange poundings, doors slamming, furniture moved and objects being thrown through the air. A reporter from the local TV station interviewed the girl and while the interview was in progress, the telephone on the end table became suddenly airborn. Later review of the video tape - in slow motion - showed that the girl had picked up the phone herself and tossed it. Apparently, she had used that split second of time when the interviewer had looked down at his notes to snatch the phone and heave it. Counseling quickly changed the home from Horror House to normalcy. But during these ‘hauntings’, the whole household was in chaos - emotions subverted any intelligent investigations and these emotions, and the people involved, fed off each other’s fears.

[Shelayne]

That still doesn’t explain how one phone turned on and text messaged another phone, while they were sitting together—with others in the room.

That is just bizarre.

[Shelayne]

I listened to the audio of 3 of the messages. On my end, I could barely make out any of the words, but the voice itself was stuff of horror movies.

[Paisan]

That still doesn’t explain how one phone turned on and text messaged another phone

The story doesn’t indicate what the text message was. I would start there. Many of the situations described in the article are written without a degree of scepticism - we are led to believe that all of these events are inexplicable. I still think the teenager is behind all of this

From the article - ...uttered in throaty, juvenile rasps...

How COULD the callers know what is going on behind closed door? I say put a trace on the daughter’s movements when all these events occur. Since, according to the article, most of the calls originate from the daughters phone, we need to know where she was when the calls came in. The article doesn’t say

[HungarianGypsy]

Or maybe they could lock up her phone for a week and see what happens.

[HitmanLV]

Raise the bounty to $50k and I’ll find them.

[dakine]

“And thats about all I can remember from the story.”

Oh sure, leave me hangin’....

[windcliff]

ping

[name741852963]

This could be the enemy or it could be a high tech joke. It appears too creepy so I believe it’s the spooks. Only via the power of Jesus can this evil be cast out. The bible says that a child of light (a real Christian...e.g., someone saved doing their best to avoid sin and when weak confess the sin before the Lord and do their best to turn from it)...that child of the light has the pwr via Jesus name to cast out the enemy...that child of the light must be right with God and really serving Jesus...i.e., living for the Lord (not living in sin). A believer can in the name of Jesus cast out the devil(s). For those that don’t believe...that’s your choice...for me and my house we will serve the Lord...period. mames