Post by Greg Stamper on May 8, 2015 20:02:53 GMT -5
Video Link:
www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Web-app-helps-search-crews-find-lost-hikers-in-Wolfe-County-303111401.html
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Web app helps search crews find lost hikers in Wolfe County
Updated: Fri 5:47 PM, May 08, 2015
WOLFE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Just after 11:00 Thursday night, four hikers from Cincinnati called 911. They said they were lost in the Red River Gorge without food, water or flashlights.
"They intended for a very short day hike and they were just under the false impression that the trail that they were on was going to be a loop and it would eventually bring them back to where they started their hike," Wolfe County Search & Rescue coordinator Drew Stevens said.
The trail they were on happens to be the longest trail in the state. The Sheltowee Trace Trail stretches from Rowan County all the way into Tennessee. Some experienced hikers say it isn't a trail for beginners.
"There's a lot of up and down.," Dan Noack said. "There are definitely some stretches where the heart gets pounding."
After calling 911, the hikers used a web app on the Wolfe County Search and Rescue website to narrow their location down coordinate within a 15 foot area on the trail.
"We were able to take these coordinates, plot them on a map which placed them right on the Sheltowee Trace; right where we thought they were," Stevens said.
Search and Rescue got to the hikers just after 2:00 a.m. Stevens says while the web app is helpful it requires good cellular signal in order to work. He says the web app shouldn't be the first thought if you get lost while hiking.
"Dial 911," Stevens said. "Even if you don't think you have cell phone service, try dialing, because if any carrier or provider has cell phone service you're able to dial 911."
Stevens says people from the Buckeye State don't have the best luck in the Red River Gorge. He says 70% of all rescues each year are people from Ohio.
www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Web-app-helps-search-crews-find-lost-hikers-in-Wolfe-County-303111401.html
www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Web-app-helps-search-crews-find-lost-hikers-in-Wolfe-County-303111401.html
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Web app helps search crews find lost hikers in Wolfe County
Updated: Fri 5:47 PM, May 08, 2015
WOLFE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Just after 11:00 Thursday night, four hikers from Cincinnati called 911. They said they were lost in the Red River Gorge without food, water or flashlights.
"They intended for a very short day hike and they were just under the false impression that the trail that they were on was going to be a loop and it would eventually bring them back to where they started their hike," Wolfe County Search & Rescue coordinator Drew Stevens said.
The trail they were on happens to be the longest trail in the state. The Sheltowee Trace Trail stretches from Rowan County all the way into Tennessee. Some experienced hikers say it isn't a trail for beginners.
"There's a lot of up and down.," Dan Noack said. "There are definitely some stretches where the heart gets pounding."
After calling 911, the hikers used a web app on the Wolfe County Search and Rescue website to narrow their location down coordinate within a 15 foot area on the trail.
"We were able to take these coordinates, plot them on a map which placed them right on the Sheltowee Trace; right where we thought they were," Stevens said.
Search and Rescue got to the hikers just after 2:00 a.m. Stevens says while the web app is helpful it requires good cellular signal in order to work. He says the web app shouldn't be the first thought if you get lost while hiking.
"Dial 911," Stevens said. "Even if you don't think you have cell phone service, try dialing, because if any carrier or provider has cell phone service you're able to dial 911."
Stevens says people from the Buckeye State don't have the best luck in the Red River Gorge. He says 70% of all rescues each year are people from Ohio.
www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Web-app-helps-search-crews-find-lost-hikers-in-Wolfe-County-303111401.html