A woman changed her phone plan before traveling internationally but when she returned from her trip, she found herself facing a phone bill for hundreds-of-dollars. 

Dailene Germann and her twin sister love to travel. 

“New people, new places, new things,” Dailene said. 

Last summer, Dailene visited the Netherlands, Denmark, and Spain. Before she left, she says she called Verizon to make sure she could stay connected using her phone, both for directions and for contacting the family. 

Dailene knew it would cost more but wanted the best plan for traveling internationally. Dailene says she called Verizon’s customer service department and told the representative where she was going, how long she would be away and what she needed the phone for. 

“The representative said you’re buying the largest plan, $40,” Dailene said. 

Dailene said her sister also signed up for the same plan and Dailene’s phone worked great on the trip but when she got home, she was in for a surprise. 

“I knew there was going to be some charges but I didn’t know it was going to be that big, that was a larger amount than my plane ticket,” Dailene said. 

Dailene said she came home to a bill from Verizon for more than $600 and Verizon told her she was charged for data usage and roaming. She said she had asked for the biggest plan and that she shouldn’t have faced these charges. 

Dailene said she kept calling Verizon for a better explanation of why her bill was so large. 

“I got so many different answers, nobody could actually pinpoint or give me an exact answer,” Dailene said. 

After four months of fighting over the bill, Dailene said Verizon shut her phone off. 

“I saw you on TV and I said, ‘He’s going to solve my problem, he’s going to get my money back,’” Dailene said. 

Dailene contacted NBC 7 Responds and we reached out to Verizon. As it turned out, Dailene should have been offered something called ‘the Travel Pass’, a $10 a day flat rate plan. Still expensive but much cheaper than what Dailene had received.

Verizon prorated Dailene’s bill to what it would have been if she had been on the Travel Pass. So instead of owing over $500, Dailene only had to pay Verizon $130.

Emergency crews rushed to Encanto Tuesday morning to investigate a crash involving a multiple cars, including a public transit bus, officials confirmed.

The traffic accident happened at around 10:45 a.m. at Euclid Avenue and Market Street. News helicopter footage showed a white truck and San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) bus had collided.

Both vehicles were stalled, side-by-side, in the middle of the street; the truck's front-end rested against the rear of the bus. The bus did not appear to have sustained significant damage. Another car could be seen near the crash site, too.

Officials with the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDPD) quickly arrived at the scene and police shut down traffic lanes as crews worked to help those injured in the crash.

About an hour later, police confirmed three people had been taken to the hospital with unspecified but non life-threatening injuries.

One victim suffered a leg injury and was pinned and trapped inside a vehicle.

Investigators have found the car suspected to have been used in a deadly hit-and-run crash that took the life of a woman walking in Oceanside.

The victim has also been identified.

According to Kathleen Vincent, acting Public Information Officer with the Oceanside Police Department (OPD), the car linked to the crime was found late Monday in the 300 block of Stage Coach Road in Oceanside. The car had been pushed down into a canyon.

A neighbor who discovered the car and called police told NBC 7 his children noticed it on their way to school.

"They go to school at 8:15 am and when they were driving up because they drive up from my neighbor's house, they saw something, but they didn't say anything until I picked them up from school," he said.

As of 11:00 p.m. Tuesday, OPD said no arrests had been made. The investigation is ongoing.

The OPD said the hit-and-run victim has been identified as Oceanside resident Margaret Rose Examus, 64. She died at the scene of the hit-and-run.

Examus was found unconscious in the westbound lanes of Mission Avenue, east of Interstate 5, just before 8 p.m. Sunday. Witnesses told investigators that the woman was walking southbound across the street when a Honda Civic hit her. The car was traveling at approximately 70 to 80 mph.

Residents familiar with the crosswalk said it is usually a safe intersection. 

"I'm shocked, I hate to see members of the Oceanside community killed, hit by drunk drivers, things like that," Oceanside resident Johnathan Lorenzo told NBC 7 on Monday.

Police described the suspect's vehicle as a 1998 Honda Civic with a California license plate. The driver was described as a man with a beard, who wore a baseball cap during the crash.

One witness followed the suspect vehicle and saw the driver take the exit for eastbound State Route 76. The car was also seen near Loretta Street.  OPD did interview the person the car is registered to, but no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information on this case can call police at (760) 435-4900 or (760) 435-4882.

A man who posed as a passenger and stole a San Diego International Airport employee shuttle filled with workers has pleaded guilty to related charges. 

Norberto Eaton, 46, of Arizona, pleaded guilty to ten felony counts: eight counts of false imprisonment by force, one count of vehicle theft and one count of resisting an executive officer by force. 

He previously pleaded not guilty. 

Eaton stole the shuttle on April 19, 2016 in what one man testified was a wild ride. 

In a split-screen video showing the front of the shuttle on one side and passengers on the other, you can Eaton jump up from the back of the shuttle, hop in the driver’s seat and speed off from Terminal 2 at Lindbergh Field with the door open.

A woman in the front seat with a cane can be seen looking for something to hold onto so she won’t fall as she and others are tossed around.

“The rate of speed was excessive,” testified Randal Snyder during Eaton’s preliminary hearing. “I was thrown up against the window which I thought was odd. I became concerned. I started looking for my seat belt.”

Investigators say that at one point, Eaton was racing 55 miles per hour down a 25 miles per hour zone on Harbor Drive.

Video shows Eaton going around stopped cars and blowing through a red light near the U.S. Coast Guard station.

One officer who testified about the April hijacking said the accident could have been catastrophic.

In the video, Eaton can be seen motioning to the passengers.

A Harbor Police officer testified he told them, "everything will be fine."

During the ordeal, which lasted more than two minutes, Snyder, one of the two men on board the shuttle, testified that he and the other man looked at each other and decided they were going to do something.

When the shuttle hit traffic near Hawthorne and came to a stop, they jumped the driver and grabbed him.

Snyder says Eaton escaped, but he and the other man were able to shout down a parking enforcement officer, who arrested Eaton.

Eaton faces a maximum of six years and eight months in County Jail when he is sentenced on May 16. The sentencing judge will consider the probation report and a possible split sentence. 

Nearly 300 California middle schools and highs schools, including 21 in San Diego County, were honored by the Gold Ribbon Schools Award Program Tuesday.

California schools are given the Gold Ribbon Award in recognition of their gains in implementing the academic content and performance standards adopted by the State Board of Education. These include California Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics, California English Language Development standards, and Next generation Science Standards.

The 21 locals schools honored represent 11 school districts across the county. San Diego’s Gold Ribbon Schools are as followed:

*Norman A. Sullivan Middle School – Bonsall Unified School District

*EJE Academies - Cajon Valley School District

Aviara Oaks Middle School – Carlsbad Unified School District

*Calavera Hills Middle School – Carlsbad Unified School District

Classical Academy High School – Escondido Union High School District

Del Lago Academy Campus of Applied Science – Escondido Union High School District

*Fallbrook High School – Fallbrook Union School District

Grossmont High School – Grossmont Union Highs School District

Santana High School – Grossmont Union Highs School District

River Valley Charter School – Lakeside Union School District

Del Norte High School – Poway Unified School District

Mt. Carmel High School – Poway Unified School District

Oak Valley Middle School – Poway Unified School District

Rancho Bernardo High School – Poway Unified School District

San Marcos High School – San Marcos Unified School District

Bonita Vista High School – Sweetwater Union High School District

Eastlake Middle School – Sweetwater Union High School District

Otay Ranch High School – Sweetwater Union High School District

Rancho Del Rey Middle School – Sweetwater Union High School District

Mission Vista High School – Vista Unified High School District

Rancho Buena Vista High School – Vista Unified High School District

Four schools listed above denoted with an asterisk were also recognized as Title I Academic Achieving Schools, which is only given to schools receiving federal Title I funds, funds that go toward the educational needs of students living at or below the poverty line.

"These terrific schools are leading the way in embracing our new rigorous academic standards and showing others how to help students succeed on their way to 21st century careers and college," State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said. "I look forward to travelling the state to honor these schools and to help share the programs, methods, and techniques that are working."

Schools will be presented with their wards at a ceremony in May. For more information on the ceremony, and the Gold Ribbon Schools Award Program, click here.

One person was taken to the hospital in a motorcyle crash in Coronado Tuesday night.

According to the Coronado Police Department, the crash, which involved a single motorcycle, occurred around 8:09 p.m. on the 200 block of Coronado Cays Boulevard.

The motorcyclist was taken to the hospital for unknown injuries.

Police closed down the Silver Strand southbound lanes just south of Coronado Cays Boulevard while emergency crews were on scene.

As of 8:45 p.m., the fire department was clearing the scene.

No other information was available.

The Los Angeles Chargers are preparing for their new rookie class. This year the Bolts hold the seventh overall pick in Round 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft. On Monday April 24, just days before their first round selection, Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco will hold a pre-draft press conference at the Stub Hub Center.

On Draft Day the Chargers will be in Anaheim. Season ticket holders are invited to the ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney for the team’s Round 1 draft party.

Current players scheduled to attend include wide receiver Keenan Allen, safety Jahleel Addae, defensive tackle Corey Liuget, cornerback Casey Hayward, guard Orlando Franklin, and linebackers Denzel Perryman and Joshua Perry.

The big introduction for the newest Bolts rookie will take place on Friday April 28. Chargers President of Business Operations, A.G. Spanos will introduce the team’s first-round selection during a press conference in the American Express Stadium Club inside the StubHub Center.

Finally, there’s the DraftFest party on Saturday, April 29. DraftFest is open to the public and free-of-charge.

It will take place at the StubHub Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fans can meet the team’s first-round draft choice and current players including quarterback Philip Rivers, tight end Hunter Henry, running back Branden Oliver, fullback Derek Watt, cornerback Craig Mager and safety Adrian Phillips. The 2017 NFL Draft ends on April 29.

A body was found Tuesday evening in the Mission Valley area of San Diego, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) confirmed.

Police said the body was found around 3:55 p.m. on Camino Del Rio North near the Interstate 805.

The Medical Examiner has been called to the scene.

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

A possible hate crime is under investigation after Noomane Trabelsi, a  Muslim man who says he served in the Army, found graffiti making death threats towards Muslims in North Park.

The hateful message was found Monday, spray painted on the back door of Studio Door next to North Park Computers where Trabelsi works.

“We have a really solid family spirit here and we’re very diverse and so it makes me angry people would lash out with that kind of hatred,” said Patrick Stillman, owner of Studio Door. 

“It’s painful and you panic when you see that stuff,” Noomane Trabelsi told NBC 7.

San Diego Police said they are aware of the graffiti and are investigating. There is no word yet on whether it will be considered a hate crime.

The graffiti was found in an area off 30th street where a number of businesses are owned by Muslims.

La Creperie owner Tarek Benhassen said in the years he's operated his North Park business, he's never been exposed to this type of hateful display.

“We came here because it’s supposed to be a coexistence with a country that’s multicultural and people coming from all over the world," Benhassen said.

Noomane, who's a 39-year-old father, is now concerned for the safety of his family. Instead of painting everyone with a broad stroke, he's hoping for a better understanding of his religion.

“Don’t mix Islam with radical people. We are not radical people. We love the United States," he said.

Police are searching for an intruder who broke into a couple's home in Normal Heights early Tuesday morning.

The break-in happened on 33rd Street and North Mountain View Drive.

The homeowner, who did not want to be identified, told NBC 7 his wife is still very shaken up by the encounter.

He explained that early Tuesday morning, his wife woke up to their dog aggressively barking and got up to let him out of their bedroom.

That's when she came face-to-face with the intruder.

His wife confronted the man, the homeowner said, and then made up a reason why he was in their home.

Moments later, the intruder jolted out their back door.

The couple thinks the suspect might have taken some tools before being confronted.

They have two toddlers and said the incident is causing a lot of concern.

San Diego Police are investigating the burglary.

Investigators are urging anyone with information to contact police. 

An adorable photo shoot between a U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor and his 4-year-old daughter in Oceanside, California, has gone viral, with pictures of the pair shared thousands of times on social media.

In the photos – taken by Oceanside-based photographer Kyndal Courtney of Kyndal Rose Photography – U.S. Marine drill instructor Kevin Porter poses with his daughter, Ashley, in a field, surrounded by trees and foliage. There, the two partake in a pretend tea party, with the towering drill instructor – dressed in uniform, from head-to-toe – even sitting in a tiny chair across the table from his daughter, pouring tea into her cup. Ashley is wearing a long, white, lace dress, her head topped with a crown of pink flowers.

In another touching photo, Porter kneels down on one knee while holding one of Ashley’s hands and kissing her other hand. In another shot, he twirls the little girl as if they’re dancing in the forest. In the photos, the little girl looks at her father lovingly as they share those special moments.

The sweet photo shoot was arranged by Porter’s wife, Lizz Porter, as a special gift for him and Ashley.

For Courtney, it was a particularly special shoot that she will never forget. The photographer told NBC 7 she has never done a set-up quite like this.

Courtney said Lizz showed her Ashley’s dress before the shoot, and the photographer created the whimsical scene to fit the dress. Lizz, Courtney and Ashley knew the plan was to take pictures of the dad-daughter duo drinking tea, but Porter had no idea what was coming.

“He was a good sport and got into it,” Courtney said, adding that Lizz was there, behind the scenes, smiling as she watched her Marine husband and Ashley play.

Courtney posted the photos on the Kyndal Rose Photography Facebook page on April 10. As of Tuesday, the post had been shared more than 7,200 times and had been liked by thousands of people.

April just so happens to be the Month of the Military Child, a month that underscores the important role military children like Ashley play in the armed forces community.

A beloved 21-year-old female polar bear at SeaWorld San Diego has passed away, the company announced Tuesday. 

Szenja, who has been with SeaWorld for 20 years, unexpectedly passed away in her habitat. 

The polar bear made headlines in March when tens of thousands signed an online petiton asking SeaWorld San Diego not to separate Szenja from her "best friend" snowflake. The pair had been living together for 20 years. In the end, SeaWorld San Diego transported Snowflake to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium for a breeding visit. 

Over the past week, caregivers and veterinary staff noticed a loss of appetite and energy in Szenja.Staff monitored her condition, but even so, her passing was unexpected, SeaWorld said. A necropsy will be performed to help determine the cause of death. 

Szenja was born in Germany at the Wuppertal Zoo in October 1995. She later came to San Diego when the park opened its Wild Arctic exhibit in 1997. 

“Szenja was a beloved member of our animal family, so this is a very difficult day for all of us,” said Al Garver, SeaWorld San Diego’s vice president of zoological operations, in a statement. “Szenja not only touched the hearts of those who have cared for her over the last two decades, but also the millions of guests who had the chance to see her in person. We’re proud to have been a part of her life and to know that she inspired people from around the world to want to protect polar bears in the wild.”

In a statement, PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Remain said Szenja died of a broken heart. 

"After losing her companion of 20 years when SeaWorld shipped Snowflake to the Pittsburgh Zoo in order to breed more miserable polar bears, Szenja did what anyone would do when they lose all hope, she gave up. This should be a wake-up call to SeaWorld: Stop breeding and shipping animals around, close the animal exhibits, and retire the animals to sanctuaries," Remain said in the statement. "Until it does, this ship will keep sinking."

Throughout her life, Szenja helped enhance awareness of polar bears for the tens of millions of guests that visited SeaWorld, SeaWorld said.

In addition, she participated in various research studies related to polar bears' hearing sensitivity, social habits, reproductive hormones and more. 

Most polar bears live between 15 and 18 years in the wild, and some live between 20 and 30 years, according to Polar Bears International. The animals are threatened by climate change, poaching, pollution and a rapid loss of sea ice in the wild. 

San Diego's beautiful weather this week is bringing many people out to the hiking trails.

But one couple found themselves face to face with a surprise guest--a large rattlesnake.

The couple was hiking at Torrey Pines Tuesday afternoon when they encountered the snake. 

In the video, the rattlesnake can be seen slithering out of a brush area one side of the trail to the other. 

The video was sent to NBC 7 by the young woman's father, Mark Kettl.

According to the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve website, rattlesnakes are very common near the trails and are more active on warmer days

The website state: "While visitors are unlikely to encounter a rattlesnake, they should always watch where they are walking, the same precaution as in all undeveloped areas in Southern California."

Closing arguments wrapped up Tuesday in the case of a 10-year-old boy who died from a bacteria carried by his pet rat, bought at a San Diego-area Petco. 

In 2013, 10-year-old Aiden Pankey died just hours after he was rushed to the hospital with severe stomach pains.

Attorneys for Aiden’s father, Andrew Pankey, are asking Petco to pay $20 million in damages in the case. 

The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office ruled the boy’s cause of death was streptobacillus moniliformis, better known as rat bite fever.

His family had just bought the pet rat from a Carmel Ranch Petco, a San Diego-based company. The CDC later confirmed the rat was infected.

Attorneys for Andrew claim Petco failed to adequately warn the boy’s family about the dangers of rat bite fever, even though they knew many of their rats had the bacteria.

The family's attorney, John Gomez, said that in 2013 any rat sold by Petco had a 50/50 chance of carrying the bacteria.

However, attorneys representing Petco emphasized in closing arguments that rat bite fever is extraordinarily rare and treatable.

Petco’s attorney, Kimberly Oberrecht, said there is a “very, very, very minimal risk of getting rat bite fever.”

Oberrecht said of the five million rats sold by Petco, the company has only had 45 claims of people getting sick from the bacteria. 

The trial started in March and lasted nearly three weeks.

Even small amounts of lead in water could raise the amounts of lead detected in a child’s blood if the child is drinking large amounts of that lead-tainted water, according to a pediatrician and medical toxicologist at Children’s Mercy in Kansas City Missouri.

This month, some 300 schools across San Diego County began testing their water for lead, following an NBC7 series on water quality in schools.

The schools are required by the state to fix water problems if they discover lead in water at levels greater than 15 parts per billion.

The amount is similar to 15 drops of ink in a giant, gasoline tanker truck.

A representative of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says lead in water as low as five parts per billion could potentially raise blood lead levels in young children if a child is drinking most of their daily water intake from the lead-laced water supply.

“It depends on the amount that they would have ingested, so if it’s just five parts per billion and the child just drank a couple times during the school day, I wouldn’t expect them to have an elevated blood lead level,” said Dr. Jennifer Lowry, who serves as the Chair to the AAP’s Council on Environmental Health.

“If you have something that is nine to 15 to 30, which is what one of those schools had, and on a chronic basis, the kid is really thirsty and drinking that throughout the day, then they could have an elevated blood lead level," she said. "I couldn’t tell you what the elevated blood level is going to be, but the more chronic the nature of the exposure, the more likely that the blood lead levels are going to elevate.”

Dr. Lowry says elevated blood lead levels for kids can cause other health problems like behavioral issues and learning disabilities.

But, she says the damage can be mitigated through good diets, reading and good education.

“I think we do a disservice to our children by thinking they’re not going to reach their full potential because they have lead exposure,” Dr. Lowry said. “There are ways that we can overcome lead poisoning and that’s through good nutrition, good education, good support, reading, and really good environments for these children.”

Her organization is pushing for stricter regulations to protect kids from what they call a critical health crisis.

Last year, County Public Health officials found hundreds of children in San Diego County with elevated levels of lead in their blood, according to our media partner Voice of San Diego.

In the 92102 zip code, which includes Sherman Heights, Grant Hill, Mount Hope and parts of Chollas Creek, the rate of children with high levels of lead in their blood is nearly as high as the rate found in children across the city of Flint, during its recent water crisis.

In Flint, that rate was five percent. In Grant Hill, the rate is 4.09 percent – less than a percentage point of a difference. That’s according to the most recent data available from the California Department of Public Health.

NBC7 is tracking results as they come in from schools and labs and are reported to the State Water Resource Control Board.

So far, about 17 schools throughout the county have reported results ranging between five and 15 parts per billion. Four schools have had lead at levels greater than the 15 parts per billion state limit, requiring the school take action to make the water safe to drink again.

The U.S. Navy awarded General Dynamics NASSCO a $22.7 million deal to perform dry dock work on the Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth, which is based in San Diego.

Work is set to be complete by November. The Navy’s Southwest Regional Maintenance Center awarded the contract, which the Pentagon announced April 13.

Littoral combat ships are small ships that carry modular mission packages adapted to antisubmarine warfare, mines countermeasures or surface warfare.

There are two types of littoral combat ships; the Freedom design has a single hull.

General Dynamics (NYSE: GD)’s NASSCO facility is the largest of the Barrio Logan shipyards. In addition to ship repair, NASSCO builds ships.

A 7-Eleven store clerk in Spring Valley is recovering, after a robber hit him with a gun. 

San Diego County Sheriff deputies responded to a robbery at the convenience store on Jamacha Blvd. Wednesday at 3:30 a.m. 

Investigators say the robber hit the clerk with the gun and fired shots into the ceiling.

The suspect left with an unknown amount of money, along with food and cigarettes. 

No other information was available.

Please refresh this page for updates on this story. Details may change as more information becomes available.

NBC 7's Liberty Zabala reports on the summit being held Wednesday in San Diego.

Before his recent set at the Music Box, acclaimed actor/musician David Duchovny talked with SoundDiego TV host Daye Salani about his new album, "Hell or Highwater," the writing process behind it, and his musical heroes.

The City of San Diego released its unclaimed monies report Wednesday, and said anyone who has done business in San Diego within the last three years should check the list.

“We want to refund every single dollar of unclaimed money,” said Cecilia San Pedro, the disbursements manager for the Office of the City Comptroller.

Throughout the year the City of San Diego receives returned checks if an address is no longer valid, according to a statement. Checks amounts have ranged from $1 to $34,000.

The city said a simple internet search could verify whether you have an unclaimed check, and there is no charge to search the data or file a claim.

“Checking to see if you are owed money is something everyone should do periodically, and it only takes a few minutes to look up your name or your business name,” said San Pedro.

There is currently about $764,000 in unclaimed money held in 1,945 accounts by the city.

The City of San Diego said money claim form can be printed from the Request for Unclaimed Monies, and mailed to the City of San Diego, Office of the City Comptroller.

Verified claims are sent out with four to six weeks, according to a statement.