A system and technique for improving the speed and ease of missing vehicle location and recovery by vehicle-carried transponder periodic coded replies to radio interrogation by a network of (VHF) transmitting towers, by integrating a concealed GPS location receiver with the transponder and providing the GPS-obtained coordinate information through the VHF network to enable a preliminary initial recovery location from which to home-in for recovery by subsequent direction-finding from the periodic transponder responses. Other location-on-demand services are also readily operable through the use of this VHF network, including providing said GPS coordinate or location information on the Internet.