A modern piece of technology played a key role in the rescue by the Kimberley Search and Rescue team Sept. 15 of a Wisconsin man in the wilderness of St. Mary’s Alpine Provincial Park.

The man, believed to be in his 30’s, was in the park with Findlay Creek Wilderness Outfitters, when a call from his “Spot” device was picked up at the Emergency Response Coordination Centre in Houston and relayed to the Provincial Emergency Centre (PEP) in Victoria.

As is the protocol, PEP in turn contacted the RCMP who authorized a search which was conducted by members of the Kimberley Search and Rescue (SAR) Team.

Kimberley SAR President and Search Master Peter Reid said the first call was received around 7 a.m. and by 9 a.m. SAR members traveling in a Big Horn Helicopter with the RCMP had located the man who had a non-life threatening ankle injury.

The injured man, who has a previous ankle condition, was flown to East Kootenay Regional Hospital in Cranbrook where he was treated for his injuries. His condition is unknown, but he’s believed to be doing well thanks in part to the speedy rescue assisted by the “Spot” locating device.

“This situation is a classic example of a person being properly prepared as they venture into the wilderness,” said Sgt. Laurie Jalbert, the officer in charge of the Kimberley RCMP detachment. “Once the signal beacon was activated, the response centre was able to contact the local authorities who mobilized the SAR group and they responded as quickly as possible.”

Reid said the Spot technology played a key role in the quick response and he recommends it to other SAR groups and anyone venturing into the wilderness.

“We recommend them highly,” he said. “In this case, it made what could have been a difficult and complicated rescue extremely simple. This is the first situation we’ve dealt with one, but all the guide-outfitters seem to be grabbing them and using them now and we’re extremely excited about them.”

Reid said the Spot device works where cell phones don’t and give better coverage than satellite phones for a much cheaper price. About the only disadvantage to using the Spots is that they can sometimes be triggered accidentally in a users pocket, Reid said.

“We recommend them because our people need technology they can rely on and they can’t use technology that might fail. The great thing about them is they’re just simple off/on devices and the technology works.”

Mike Brady of Anchorage, Alaska, the first known Spot survivor, agrees. “SPOT saved my life. If my brother hadn’t bought me SPOT to check-in with him before I left (for Alaska), I might not be here right now.”

The Spot GPS personal tracking device is a hi-tech GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking unit that works around the world. The Spot GPS tracker uses satellite-to-satellite communication for location services.

SPOT works by reading satellite data from the satellites circling the earth. When activated, SPOT will acquire its exact coordinates from the GPS network, and send that location along with a distress message to the International Emergency Response Center in Houston every five minutes until cancelled.

The Emergency Response Center notifies the appropriate emergency authorities, which may include local police, highway patrol, SAR personnel, Coast Guard, or a person designated (spouse), that you’re having an emergency.

When activated, SPOT will acquire its exact coordinates from the GPS network, and send that location along with a distress message to Houston every five minutes until cancelled.