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Cell Phones Key in Two Deschutes SAR Rescues

Cell Phones Key in Two Deschutes SAR Rescues
Lost, Injured Hikers Called 911; GPS Coordinates Zeroed In
By Barney Lerten
September 7, 2011

Another warm summer weekend has kept Deschutes County Sheriff's Search and Rescue crews busy assisting lost or injured hikers in the woods west of Bend. Cell phones played a key role in two incidents, as the hikers used them to contact 911, and searchers used their GPS coordinates to help focus the successful search efforts.

On Friday around 4:30 p.m., 911 dispatchers got a cell phone call from Brandon Mailea, 19, of Bend, who reported that he and Emily Carpenter, also 19 and of Bend, believed they were lost in the area of Junco
Lake, between the Miller Lake Trailhead and Mirror Lake, said Deputy Mike Biondi, assistant SAR coordinator.

Biondi said Mailea reported that Carpenter had suffered an injury and was unable to walk out.

He told dispatchers they had left the trailhead around 10:30 a.m. on a hike to Mirror Lake. On their return, they lost the trail, due to snow cover, and it was during that hike that Carpenter was injured.

Mailea was asked to call 911 again on both he and his companions cell phones, so dispatchers could better obtain GPS coordinators to help locate them, Biondi said. One cell phone ?ping? provided GPS
coordinates near Junco Lake and the second about a mile to the north.

A sheriff?s deputy and 14 SAR members responded and began searching the area around Junco Lake, Biondi said.

Not initially finding the pair, SAR teams focused their search in the area of the second set of coordinates, and found the hikers around 8 p.m. Friday.

Biondi said Carpenter was treated at the scene, and she and Mailea were able to walk out to the trailhead, with the aid of SAR medics.

On Saturday, around 2:45 p.m., 911 got a call from Ricky Rodriguez, 43, of Atlanta, who reported that he and his wife, Carina Hernandez, 34, also of Atlanta, were lost in the Three Sisters Wilderness, south of the
South Sister, Biondi said.

Hernandez reported they had left the Devils Lake Trailhead around 9 a.m. Saturday and proceeded up the hikers trail toward the South Sister for about three hours.

Upon descent, however, they said they lost sight of the trail. After wandering in the area for about 2 1/2 hours, Rodriguez called 911, advising they had food and water but were not dressed to be out overnight, Biondi said.

Based on the GPS coordinates from the 911 call and his description of the surroundings, it was determined they are about one-third of a mile south of Rock Mesa, Biondi said.

A sheriff's office deputy, a U.S. Forest Service employee and 10 SAR members responded to start looking for the hikers, who were located by SAR teams in good condition around 6:30 p.m. Biondi said they were
escorted back to the trailhead by SAR team members.
Copyright 2012 KTVZ. All rights reserved.
 

http://www.ktvz.com/news/Cell-Phones-Key-in-Two-Deschutes-SAR-Rescues/-/413192/619252/-/gb9jsyz/-/index.html

The Rest of the Story

Here are some Basic suggestions for all backcountry travelers

1. Practice the Four Basic Responsibilities of the Backcountry Traveler. They work!  Basic Responsibilities

2. Carry the new Ten Essential Systems, sized for the forecast weather and the adventure in a light day pack. This includes a map, compass and GPS and the skills to use them. In the winter, this includes enough extra insulation and waterproof clothing to keep you dry and warm if you become stranded. In snow, you must have a shovel and insulating pad and the skills to make a shelter in the snow to avoid hypothermia and frost bite damage. It works!  Ten Essential Systems

A suggested minimum standard news advisory for all backcountry travelers!

"We would like to take this opportunity to ask our visitors to the backcountry of Oregon to Plan for the unexpected. Each person should dress for the forecast weather and take minimum extra clothing to provide protection from a drop in temperature and possible rain or snow storm or an unexpected cold wet night out. Each person should carry high carbohydrate snacks, two quarts of water or Gatorade, a topo map and declination adjusted base plate compass and an optional inexpensive GPS (and the skills to use them together). Each person who has a cell phone should carry their ordinary charged cell phone (from a service provider that has the best local backcountry coverage). An inexpensive SPOT-2 GPS Satellite Communicator is a good additional option for some. Each person should carry their selected items from the new 'Ten Essentials Systems' in a day pack sized for the individual, the trip, the season and the forecast weather."

"Visitors are reminded to tell a Responsible Person where they are going, where they plan to park, when they will be back and to make sure that person understands that they are relied upon to call 911 at a certain time if the backcountry traveler has not returned. Call 911 as soon as you become lost or stranded. You will not be charged. Do not try to find your way until you are benighted, exhausted, or worse yet - wet. Your ordinary cell phone call to 911 can take the 'Search' out of Search and Rescue."

THE MISSION of TraditionalMountaineering.org

"To provide information and instruction about world-wide basic to advanced alpine mountain climbing safety skills and gear, on and off trail hiking, scrambling and light and fast Leave No Trace backpacking techniques based on the foundation of an appreciation for the Stewardship of the Land, all illustrated through photographs and accounts of actual shared mountaineering adventures."

TraditionalMountaineering is founded on the premise that "He who knows naught, knows not that he knows naught", that exploring the hills and summitting peaks have dangers that are hidden to the un-informed and that these inherent risks can be in part, identified and mitigated by mentoring: information, training, wonderful gear, and knowledge gained through the experiences of others.

The value of TraditionalMountaineering to our Friends and Subscribers is the selectivity of the information we provide, and its relevance to introducing folks to informed hiking on the trail, exploring off the trail, mountain travel and Leave-no-Trace light-weight bivy and backpacking, technical travel over steep snow, rock and ice, technical glacier travel and a little technical rock climbing on the way to the summit. Whatever your capabilities and interests, there is a place for everyone in traditional alpine mountaineering.

    WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can, only in part, be mitigated