Cell phone data tracks mother who illegally took baby from Massachusetts to Alabama

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WWLP) – Cell phone data was used to track the mother of a 1-year-old baby who was illegally taken away from his guardian in Fall River, Massachusetts.

According to a news release from Massachusetts State Police, Genezza Packett was visiting her son, who was in the custody of her aunt, in Fall River on Thursday. She told her aunt she was taking her son to Dunkin', however, after several hours she did not return.

Local police were alerted, and in collaboration with multiple states, the Commonwealth Watch Center was able to track Packett’s cell phone to Route 81 in Virginia just after midnight on Friday.

Packett's family told police that the mother may have been headed to Mississippi where other family members lived. Cell phone data confirmed that Packett was traveling on I-59 in Alabama.

With the help of the Alabama Highway Patrol, Packett and her son were located safely.

Detectives from Fall River initially requested an AMBER Alert. The on-call AMBER Alert Coordinator, however, determined that the incident did not meet the necessary criteria. Packett made no threats against her child, but detectives feared for his safety because his mother is not his legal custodian and there were five active felony warrants against her for various, non-violent crimes.