[pct-l] SAR comments on Censored epic

[Ken Murray]

On the Whitney Portal Store website, there is a thread about the epic, and there are several comments from George Durkee, the Senior Wilderness Ranger in SEKI (stationed at Charlotte lake this year), Bob Rockwell of China Lake Mountain Search and Rescue, and Doug Thompson, owner of the Whitney Portal Store:
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George Durkee 
This SPOT alert was also checked out by NPS Sequoia Kings. A very weird case. The initial locations given by the SPOT people were WAY off -- over on the east side of the Crest north of Independence (I think). I've just got a very loose story but it's close to what the woman tells. The later 911 SPOT transmission was mapped correctly. Inyo SAR was checking out the sage trying to find this person in the rain and dark with, of course, no luck. They called Sequoia Kings wondering if we had any ideas.

Totally unknown if the fault was with SPOT or what the Satellite received. I hope Inyo Sheriff & SPOT are following up on this. Inyo called several times to make sure the location was correct and SPOT insisted it was. The first location alerts all agreed and were all wrong.

The problem with hitting the emergency 911 button is how do various agencies respond when a later "ok" button is hit. The consensus now is to view it as a 911 hangup -- a response is still necessary, though maybe not as quick.

Quote:I hit 911 to let them know that there’s a hiker on the mountain and she’s in trouble. I did NOT hit 911 to get “rescued.”

Hmmmm. What did she think was going to happen? I mean, she calls it a 911 button (though after hearing this story, I called it the "Mommy" button). When you hit "911" on a SPOT, someone's going to make a rescue attempt. Of course, I'm glad she's OK, but sure wish she (and most other PCT hikers) were more prepared for storms like this. PCT hikers are good when the weather's good, but this storm wasn't all that unusual. How hard is it to carry a light tent? I also hope others note that one lesson is to stop and set up camp while you're still warm & functional... . 
g. 
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 Bob R 
  Two pieces of info following up on what George Durkee reported. 
This morning I talked to Doug Thompson at the store. He said that after the subject got a ride to Lone Pine from Horseshoe Meadow, she checked into the Hostel. Did not notify Inyo authorities. So SAR was still looking, the helos were still flying. Then a deputy was walking on the sidewalk near the Hostel and encountered a woman talking on her cell phone. He overheard enough to ask, "Are you (the subject)?" Of course, she was. And only then was the SAR called off. To underscore what George said, hitting 911 turns on the rescue system. Hitting OK later doesn't turn if off. The search continues until until a real person tells them it is no longer needed. From what George says, this issue is being worked.

Later, on the trail, I talked to a ranger who was involved in the search. He said the SPOT relayed the location as somewhere in the Hogback Creek drainage. That's the next canyon north of Whitney Portal. He said they were driving the roads, flashing lights, and had helicopter overflights--all in an area miles north of where the subject was. Eventually SPOT got it right, with no harm done (except for the needless expenditure of resources, looking in the wrong places). I wonder how many other instances of false locations have occurred. This one could have been critical.

Technology is wonderful when it works as it is supposed to. But technology sometimes fails, and operators sometime misuse. 
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