And the mom/fam was able to call from overseas to local PD, and leave various messages with friends or neighbors to check on Kevin.
The lines weren’t down. If local lines are non-functioning, all phone traffic is inoperative regardless if it’s long distance or not. Kevin also called for Pizza and the police himself.
And the mom/fam was able to call from overseas to local PD…
Yes, Ma Bell would prioritize getting the police phone lines working first
…and leave various messages with friends or neighbors to check on Kevin.
Family: they were all on the trip. Friends/neighbors: I don’t remember.
If local lines are non-functioning, all phone traffic is inoperative regardless if it’s long distance or not.
Back then it’d be easy to knock out long distance lines but keep the locals up; you just had to take down the right trunk. And in a city that big the trunks would have been split up into local and long distance.
Pretty sure only long distance lines were down. Local calls were still good which is how he ordered the Pizza.
There’s no difference between those lines at the local level. The only long distance lines would be the oceanic ones.
Right, and the family was in France.
And the mom/fam was able to call from overseas to local PD, and leave various messages with friends or neighbors to check on Kevin.
The lines weren’t down. If local lines are non-functioning, all phone traffic is inoperative regardless if it’s long distance or not. Kevin also called for Pizza and the police himself.
Let’s face it, the phone is a plot hole.
Yes, Ma Bell would prioritize getting the police phone lines working first
Family: they were all on the trip. Friends/neighbors: I don’t remember.
Back then it’d be easy to knock out long distance lines but keep the locals up; you just had to take down the right trunk. And in a city that big the trunks would have been split up into local and long distance.
That’s not how that works. There are no separate residential lines for police.
The rest, that’s not how that works, either.