Life-Saving Technology, Record Response

Rescue crews from the East Bay Regional Park District Helicopter Unit in Haywood (CA) used infrared technology to locate and rescue a man who lost his way in a remote area of Mission Peak Regional Preserve last week.

The Sacremento-area man, who was forced to spend the night alone on the mountain, had been hiking earlier with a friend who turned back about a third of the way up the Mission Peak trail. At 8 p.m. Monday evening, the man called his friend to announce he had almost reached the top of the peak. At 8:17 p.m., he called to say that he was lost and would probably have to spend the night on the mountain. A moment later, the man slipped and fell, losing his cell phone and winding up near a 40-foot ravine.

The Search Begins

Local police began a search immediately, based on information relayed in the man's phone calls. Monterey and Marin County ground teams assisted in the search, but were unable to find the lost hiker.

At sunrise the next morning, the East Bay Helicopter Unit's Chief Pilot Randy Parent and Officer Kevin Iacovoni joined the search in the unit's Eurocopter AS350. Utilizing the helicopter's externally mounted FLIR (Forward Looking Infra Red), Parent and Iacovoni located the man in under 30 minutes in a patch of rugged chaparral.

The man was treated by paramedics at the scene and airlifted to a nearby parking lot by the helicopter crew.

FMI: www.rotor.com