A Durango-based helicopter company is testing a new device that will enable helicopter search and rescue teams to locate and communicate with missing or distressed people in remote Colorado areas within minutes, even if they are stranded in an area with no cell service.
The technology resembles a miniature cell phone tower and is mounted on the outside of a helicopter. Using a map on a tablet, searchers can pinpoint the locations of all cell phones within a 5-kilometer radius, explains Dr. Tim Durkin, a search and rescue program coordinator for Colorado Highland Helicopters.
“When we detect the phone, a spot basically appears on the map and as we fly around that area, that spot gets smaller and smaller until we can see exactly where they are,” Durkin said.
“The process of recognizing and focusing on a particular location takes about a minute – actually not that long.”
Depending on the situation, search and rescue teams can then dispatch ground personnel with the person's location or land the helicopter if there is a clearing nearby and conditions allow a safe landing, Durkin said.
During a test mission in La Plata Canyon northwest of Durango, search teams found the two people they were looking for within two minutes and 14 seconds, Durkin said.
The technology, called “Lifeseeker,” was developed by Spain-based CENTUM research & technology and is in the process of being approved by the Federal Communications Commission before it can be sold to states or counties that want to use it for their search and rescue operations, he said.
La Plata Canyon is bordered by several 12,000 and 13,000 foot peaks on either side, with a dense forest at the base of the canyon. There have been several high-profile search and rescue missions to search for missing hikers and ultrarunners in the remote mountainous region.
The rugged terrain found in many areas of Colorado makes it extremely difficult for search crews to locate people from the air or ground. Some past operations lasted weeks before search crews abandoned ground operations without finding the person they were looking for.
“Even if two adult humans are standing there under the tree canopy, we can't see them because the tree canopy is so dense, even if we can say on the screen, 'We know exactly where they are,' while we're circling in a helicopter 100 feet above the trees,” said Durkin, an emergency medical technician.
“Trying to find a person without having additional technology to see them is really quite, quite difficult, if not nearly impossible.”
The radio-based technology requires a clear view of the terrain without interference to receive the cell phone signal. If the conditions and terrain are favorable, it can detect a cell phone up to 20 miles away.
It takes about three minutes to attach the Lifeseeker unit to a helicopter when it is needed for a search and rescue mission, Durkin said.
The SAR can also use the tool to send text messages to the missing person, advising them, for example, to stay in one place in case of injury or to go to a clearing where they can be picked up by a helicopter.
The tool also has a broadcast feature that allows SAR to send a message to a group of people within a certain radius, similar to an Amber Alert for a missing child, to warn them of a wildfire or flood, Durkin said.
ANOTHER LIFE-SAVING TOOL
The new technology could be another life-saving tool for the roughly 2,500 volunteer search and rescue workers across the state who respond to emergency calls from people in remote areas, said Jeff Sparhawk, executive director of the Colorado Search and Rescue Association, which represents the state's teams that report to county sheriffs.
For example, finding a person with dementia or a missing child without a cell phone may require a different approach than finding a missing hiker last seen on the windswept summit of a 14,000-foot mountain.
Air rescuers use a variety of technologies to search for people, such as high-resolution video filtered through software that can detect colors not normally found in nature, such as royal blue. SAR also has access to the state's aircraft, which use infrared sensors to detect temperature differences on the ground.
However, the success rate of search and rescue teams in visual searches from helicopters is not very high, Sparhawk said.
“Searching in our valleys, in our mountains, is just very, very difficult. It's also difficult when people are wearing muted colours – finding someone in grey among 10 billion grey stones is really difficult,” he said.
Lifeseeker technology can make a big difference for searches that locate someone outside of cellphone range, Sparhawk said — but only if the person's phone has power.
“It's a balancing act. From our perspective, cell phone batteries are a problem for us – if someone goes hiking, we've taught people to turn their phone off, put it in airplane mode, or conserve battery in any way they can. Usually that means unplugging,” Sparhawk said.
“So if they save the battery on their phone, don't hear a helicopter and don't turn it back on, it doesn't make any difference to them. But if they get lost, of course they have to turn their phone on and try to get within range,” he said.
A task force designed to better support search and rescue operations across the state cited improving field communications as a way to keep rescue workers in remote areas without passing costs on to those calling for help.
The 111-page report, released in 2022, recommended providing funding to sheriffs and search and rescue teams in remote areas to purchase and improve communications technology and studying the utility of helicopters for rescue purposes. Many of the search and rescue teams across the state have been overwhelmed with a dramatic increase in calls in recent years.
“The success of our tourism industry is both a blessing and a curse for us,” said Sparhawk. “We support the tourism industry as much as we can and we don't want to hurt it in any way, but I think the growing population and the increasing tourism just give us a lot, a lot of work.”
Most emergency calls come in during the summer, while winter operations typically require more energy and require search teams to enter dangerous, avalanche-prone terrain, he said.
Colorado Search and Rescue advises people to recover as safely as possible in remote areas by remembering the three most important things: trip planning, training and bringing essentials.
“Most people go on an adventure and they don't expect to need help, so they want to enjoy their day. And they should,” Sparhawk said. “That's the what-if situation that not everyone thinks about.”
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