History Main / PhoneTraceRace

Even if the person on the other line is encouraged to keep the other person talking, it never seems to work. The criminal will say everything they want and still always hang up a few seconds shy of the minimum time to trace the number. In some cases, the criminal will say they're aware of the phone trace or say how many seconds the call took. This trope is often used by [[SerialKiller serial killers]] or any particularly clever character. A common subversion is to stay on the line just long enough for a trace, but the purpose is to lead the police somewhere else as part of the criminal's [[XanatosGambit elaborate plan]].

* HawaiiFive-O: Is done by a drug ring holding schoolchildren hostage.

As technology marches on, this trope has morphed into tracing the computer connection, but the essense remains the same.

* ''{{Juggernaut}}''. The police are shown racing to wear the call from the MadBomber is coming from, only to find a bunch of public phones wired together.

* On an episode of ''DiagnosisMurder'', the killer who had previously dodged phone traces allows the call to be traced to a pay phone to distract the police.

* In one episode of ''MurdochMysteries'', Constable Crabtree ''invents'' phone tracing.

* The Federal Marshals tracing Richard Kimble's call in ''TheFugitive''. A subversion because Kimble wanted them to trace the call to the real killer's house.

* {{Lost}} had an episode in which Kate called the police from a phone booth, with a clock set to remind her of the seconds she had before they could track her.

Even if the person on the other line is encouraged to keep the other person talking, it never seems to work. The criminal is say everything they want and still always hang up a few seconds shy of the minimum time to trace the number. In some cases, the criminal will say they're aware of the phone trace or say how many seconds the call took. This trope is often used by [[SerialKiller serial killers]] or any particularly clever character. A common subversion is to stay on the line just long enough for a trace, but the purpose is to lead the police somewhere else as part of the criminal's [[XanatosGambit elaborate plan]].

A horror and police procedural trope where the police set up a phone trace to catch a criminal but they need them to stay on the line for a certain amount of time. The amount of time will vary, yet somehow the criminal will know the exact amount of time and [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy purposely hang up]] just before the police can get a trace.

* In the ''MissionImpossible'' movie, Ethan stays on the line just long enough for his call to get traced to London, just as planned.

* Among the better known [[HorrorFilm horror flicks]] to use the TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse twist, the original ''BlackChristmas'' features quite a lot of effort on the part of the police force trying to get [[AxCrazy the lunatic killer]] who likes obscene phone calls to stay on the line so they can get a trace.

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* Among the better known horror flicks to use the TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse twist, the original ''BlackChristmas'' features quite a lot of effort on the part of the police force trying to get the lunatic killer who likes obscene phone calls to stay on the line so they can get a trace.

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* In ''TheLostExperience'' DJ Dan gets a call that turns out to be from Rachel Blake (using her hacker alias, Persephone). He tells his cohost Tanya to trace the call and she says "Trace it? With my pencil?"

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* ''{{Bookhunter}}'' has a variation where a perp is using a phone line to hack a computer. The cops are able to get the number the hacker is calling from easily enough, but it's a public phone booth, so they must race to physically apprehend the cracker and they don't have any way to keep the perp on the line longer.

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* Invoked in the RealTrailerFakeMovie [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg4ztJ32iPI The Waldo Ultimatum]].

* Vanko hangs up before Tony can finish tracing his call in ''IronMan 2''.

* In ''{{Sneakers}}'', the heroes set up this elaborate multi-hub "fence" between their call location and the NSA before calling the government agency in order to negotiate for the MacGuffin. In the space of three minutes the NSA trackers are almost ast their door, but they manage to disconnect before they are discovered... or so they think.

* On an episode of DiagnosisMurder, the killer who had previously dodged phone traces allows the call to be traced to a pay phone to distract the police.