Wilderness Tracker Creates Tracking Solution to Help Locate Missing Boy Scouts, Hikers and Outdoor Enthusiasts

[fgoodwin 23]

Wilderness Tracker Creates Tracking Solution to Help Locate Missing Boy Scouts, Hikers and Outdoor Enthusiasts

 

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/4/emw515412.htm

 

Wilderness Tracker offers tracking solutions to locate lost hikers, boy scouts, back country skiers and mountaineers. Using radio telemetry technology, the Wilderness Tracker Tracking System can lead search and rescue personnel to the exact location of the missing person. http://www.wildernesstracker.com'>http://www.wildernesstracker.com

 

Springville, UT (PRWeb) April 2, 2007 -- On a family camping trip Keith Reber discovered that his 15 year old son had gone missing. An experienced scout leader, Keith quickly began a comprehensive search and was able to locate his son after just five hours. Although his experience ended successfully, Keith began to consider how the search for his son could have been simplified.

 

As a result, brothers Keith and Matt Reber developed Wilderness Tracker tracking systems which utilize robust and reliable telemetry, radio frequency directional finding technology that has been in use for over 50 years as a simple way to locate anything from goods to animals and people. The Wilderness Tracker is a lightweight belt that includes a whistle, LED light and small transmitter that emits a radio signal wave that can be located using a Tracker Maxima receiver.

 

How it works:

 

1. Boy Scout Troops, hikers, back country skiers, and outdoor enthusiasts are equipped with a Wilderness Tracker transmitter.

 

2. Each transmitter is programmed to a specific frequency. The individual's name is logged in with the transmitter frequency.

 

3. Search and Rescue crews have a Tracker receiver that picks up a wide range of frequencies emitted by the transmitters.

 

4. If a person becomes lost, the individual turns on their transmitter, and the device begins pulsing a small radio wave.

 

5. Search and Rescue crews identify the frequency assigned to the lost person and perform a sweep of the area using the Tracker receiver and identify the general area to focus the search.

 

6. Using telemetry tracking skills, Search and Rescue personnel hone in on the radio transmission and find the missing person.

 

Commenting on the importance of his solution, Keith Reber offers, "After several scouts were lost on hikes, the Utah Scout Troops became aggressive in ways to recover lost kids in the wilderness. The most basic need is survival skills and how to stay calm in emergencies. The next step is to facilitate a quick recovery. Using the Wilderness Tracker we can quickly find the lost scout. This is an additional layer of security to protect these kids if they get lost."

 

John Gailey, spokesman for the Utah National Parks Council, agrees with Reber's perspective. "We really try to teach the boys not to get lost in the first place, and that is still our primary focus, but recognizing that it still happens, we think this kind of technology is a great security blanket, just in case."

 

Alternate organizations are also coming to the same conclusion. Using telemetry tracking, the Salt Lake Council of Boy Scouts was able to quickly find and recover a lost boy. What could have easily turned into a full search and recovery operation was quickly resolved without the danger, expense, and media spectacle that many search and rescue efforts turn into.

 

Other outdoor enthusiast such as hikers and mountaineers report that the risk associated with mountaineering is part of the excitement of the sport and have traditionally been resistance to carrying any type of mountain locater unit or hiker's beacons. However, too often, even the most experienced explorers become lost or injured requiring a full scale recovery. A lightweight mountain locator unit such as the Wilderness Tracker speeds up and simplifies emergency recovery to protect the safety of both missing persons and search and rescue crews.

 

Ken Barber, President of Tracker Radio, the company that supplies the Maxima receiver for the Wilderness Tracker, explains, "In this day and age there is no reason for a person to get lost in the wilderness. Search and Rescue personnel using our powerful Maxima receiver and telemetry tracking skills can locate a person in a million acre wilderness area. Not only does this speed up recoveries but significantly cuts the cost of a full scale search."

 

Speaking from personal experience, Bill Hall, Executive Officer and K-9 Handler with Emergency K-9 Operations in Clinton, Iowa and a 10 year search and rescue veteran, has used radio telemetry while performing numerous missions: "I've been involved with searches from the Sawtooth Wilderness Area, to the Midwest, and the North Carolina Piedmont. These are enormous areas and each presents unique difficulties in locating a missing person. A radio telemetry system is an invaluable aid in many rescue situations, rather than looking for a needle in a haystack, we can quickly narrow the search area. This system should eliminate the need to call off a search before the person is found."

 

About Wilderness Tracker

 

Wilderness Tracker offers tracking solutions to locate lost hikers, boy scouts or mountaineers. Using radio telemetry technology, the Wilderness Tracker Tracking System can lead search and rescue personnel to the exact location of the missing person. http://www.wildernesstracker.com

 

About Tracker Radio

 

Tracker Radio offers a wide line of radio frequency (RF) and GPS tracking systems, including the receiver used by Wilderness Tracker. Tracker revolutionized RF tracking by introducing the world's first pocket-sized receivers. These powerful, systems are lightweight and simple to operate.

 

About Emergency K-9 Operations

 

Emergency K-9 Operations, Inc. is a professional, not-for-profit, 501©3, volunteer K-9 Search and Rescue Team serving eastern Iowa, western Illinois and surrounding communities. K-9 teams train to nationally recognized standards of performance to obtain operational status in a variety of disciplines.