A family from Libertyville, Chicago, is suing Volkswagen for allegedly refusing to aid police in tracking their stolen car with their kidnapped toddler in the back seat. ABC 7 Chicago details how Taylor Shepherd, a pregnant 34-year-old woman, was assaulted by carjackers in February, in her driveway. Her car, a Volkswagen with her 2-year-old son inside, was stolen.
The search for the kidnapped child was hampered by Volkswagen's refusal to provide the car's GPS location data, arguing the vehicle's free trial period had expired. The child was later found safe in a Waukegan parking lot.
Lake County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chief Chris Covelli voiced his frustrations with Volkswagen's policy, highlighting a lack of urgency in a serious abduction case. Eventually, after someone paid the $150 GPS subscription fee, the car company granted access to the data, at which point the child had already been found.
Contradicting this, Volkswagen argued in February that their emergency request protocol was breached, despite having successfully used this process in prior incidents. According to CBS News, they stated, "Despite success with the usage of this process in previous incidents, unfortunately, there was a serious breach of the process during this instance."
A few months after the event, the Libertyville family is pressing charges against Volkswagen, seeking to hold the company responsible for failing to act during the crisis.
