If you think fleeing the country and hiding online will keep you safe, you should think again. Alfred Hightower was just caught thanks to Blizzards release of information from World of Warcraft.
Hightower was a wanted criminal in Howard County, Indiana for dealing controlled substances and marijuana but fled the country to Canada. The sheriffs had him enlisted with the U.S. Marshals and with the help of Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he was soon apprehended.
Deputy Matt Robertson and Major Steve Rogers investigation has led them to believe that Hightower was a World of Warcraft fan. “We received information that this guy was a regular player of an online game, which was referred to as ‘some warlock and witches’ game,” said Roberson. “None of that information was sound enough to pursue on its own, but putting everything we had together gave me enough evidence to send a subpoena to Blizzard Entertainment. I knew exactly what he was playing — World of Warcraft. I used to play it. It’s one of the largest online games in the world.”
The subpoena was nothing more than a politely worded request, considering the limits of his law enforcement jurisdiction and the ambiguity of the online world. Blizzard, three months later released a package of information that included Hightower’s IP address, his account information and history, his billing address, and even his online screen name and preferred server. You can pretty much sum up what will happen there with.
Not too smart keeping real information on the internet when you’re a wanted criminal. Better luck next time Hightower.