They actually do this.
Where I'm from, a guy did a hit and run on a highway, and they caught him by checking the cell phones in the area at the time of the crash, then followed the signal.
They don't HAVE TO track them by satellites, they track them by using the mobile phone towers and the position of the cell relative to 2 or more towers (triangulation). it is pretty much cost free for the police to do this, and it can be done very quickly.
I personally would be taking my battery out of my phone.