Travelers stuck in snow in Colorado on Christmas Day were able to get help despite having no cell phone service — thanks to their iPhone’s SOS satellite feature.
According to a press release obtained by PEOPLE, the Gilpin County dispatch center received information from the iPhone Satellite Emergency Relay Center at 6:10 p.m. Monday that a Toyota Tacoma was stuck in the mountains of Gilpin County, located west of Denver.
By 6:50 p.m., Gilpin County Sheriffs contacted the Colorado 4×4 Rescue Squad and Recovery Services for assistance. At 20:15 the Colorado 4×4 team was dispatched to the area of the stuck vehicle and located the stuck group at 21:40. All members of the group were in good condition, except that they were very cold, according to the press release.
“They’re saying, ‘Hey, Tacoma stuck. We don’t know what’s going on. We just know people are stuck,'” Colorado 4×4 Rescue public information officer Kimi McBryde told local outlet KMGH about the communication they received from the sheriff’s office.
“So for the iPhone: we found they needed help. Con, you don’t necessarily get all the information,” McBryde explained.
Because there was no cell service in the area and passengers were unable to communicate with authorities, the search and rescue team “wasn’t sure how many people were out there” and didn’t know what their conditions were like, including whether they needed “food, water, layers, where they were from,” she added.
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But thanks to SOS, the passengers were rescued three hours after it was dispatched.
According to Apple’s website, the Satellite Emergency SOS feature connects iPhone owners “with emergency services in exceptional circumstances when there are no other ways to reach emergency services.”
When cellular service is unavailable, the iPhone then attempts to connect to emergency services via satellite, for those outside with a “clear view of the sky and horizon.” This feature is available to iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15 and/or iPhone 15 Pro owners.
A group from Massachusetts was stranded in the Colorado snow without any cell service.
4X4 rescue
Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery, which shared the story on its Facebook page this week, uses equipment that includes satellite communication devices and has been operating since 2014.
McBryde shared with PEOPLE in a statement Thursday that changes in the accessibility of satellite communications are “a game changer for safe outdoor enjoyment.”
“We strongly believe in everyone enjoying the outdoors, in a safe manner. It is not uncommon for us to receive requests for assistance with satellite communication devices, but the associated costs of satellite communication can be prohibitive for people who purchase and use them, even though everyone has a cell phone.” , McBryde said.
“We’re very excited to see this technology become more accessible to everyone, and we hope it expands to other phone devices and carriers.”
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Source: HIS Education