Guess they still need to work on that E-911 rollout.
> Couldn't they check with the cell phone provider and see who the ESN
> is/was last registered to?
And what good does that do for someone who just gave their old AMPS, TDMA , CDMA or GSM cellphone to a resale shop? The person who buys these old phones won't have "registered" it with anyone. The person who originally had it and the associated ESN/IMEI is long gone and out of the picture.