In April 13 at 5:30 p.m., WCSART received a 911 call for three female hikers needing assistance. The trio began their day hiking in from the northern end of Indian Creek off Hatton Ridge. After hiking 10 miles, two of their mobile devices died and the third had no signal. They had been using AllTrails as a navigational aid but could now not find their way back to the original trailhead. As daylight was getting short, they activated the SOS feature on their Apple iPhone.
The Apple dispatch center contacted the nearest 911 center, which relayed the hikers’ location along with their status. Coordinates indicated the group was on Indian Creek 9A near the end of the road. WCSAR dispatched two team members to retrieve the hikers and transport them back to Hatton Ridge.
As this transport was fairly lengthy, the Menifee County Fire Department, which was just returning from a brush fire, agreed to meet at their fire station where the group was handed off, and they completed the last leg of the drive back to Hatton Ridge.
This was a very good reminder to always carry a way to charge your mobile devices, especially if that’s your primary navigational tool.
