Inured Hiker located - By Facebook!

A quick thinking 911 operator helped locate an injured hiker whose cell phone call was cut short.

http://news.yahoo.com/injured-california-hiker-located-via-facebook-911-call-202145493.html

So, maybe posting pics that you are on vacation is a good thing?

Amazing!!!

I was very surprised by this story - every cell phone has a GPS receiver built in, so why bother asking for a description of the location? I turns out that while manufacturers are required to include a GPS chip, wireless carriers aren't required to use it. In particular, dialling 911 doesn't automatically send your location data to the 911 system - the emergency operator has to ask the wireless carrier for it. If the call is interrupted before then, the location (other than nearest tower) might not be available.

It all depends on funding...some dispatch centers get nothing, some dispatch centers get the local tower location, and some dispatch centers get the gps coordinates.

Sometimes the gps in the phone has been turned off and needs up to 12 minutes to acquire a signal before it can be sent to the center. Sometimes the gps chip is obscured from the sky and the dispatcher has to call the carrier for radio location assistance.

Here in Connecticut, a cell phone location can be displayed on a mapping application on a mobile laptop in state police cruisers. The capabilities by town vary.

FYI, the FCC is in the process of formulating new requirements for phones using cheap barometric pressure sensors (altimeters) to improve finding the location of callers in high rise buildings.

Remix said:

FYI, the FCC is in the process of formulating new requirements for phones using cheap barometric pressure sensors (altimeters) to improve finding the location of callers in high rise buildings.

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Or in the mountains. Having an altitude fix can help pinpoint where on a mountain a victim is located.

Tom Rankin said:

A quick thinking 911 operator helped locate an injured hiker whose cell phone call was cut short.

http://news.yahoo.com/injured-california-hiker-located-via-facebook-911-call-202145493.html

So, maybe posting pics that you are on vacation is a good thing?

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Posting that your traveling is like handing out invitations to have your home robbed while your away. Post your trip reports when you get home.

The article doesn't say how she gained access to his Facebook page. Was it by authority of her position or his Facebook setting?

I'd say it was a resourceful dispatcher but wouldn't rely on it unless there was some protocol that was developed to make Facebook another possible SAR tool.

Stan said:

The article doesn't say how she gained access to his Facebook page. Was it by authority of her position or his Facebook setting? I'd say it was a resourceful dispatcher but wouldn't rely on it unless there was some protocol that was developed to make Facebook another possible SAR tool.

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sierra said:

Posting that your traveling is like handing out invitations to have your home robbed while your away. Post your trip reports when you get home.

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Does anyone know if Law enforcement or SAR, etc. have special Facebook privileges? I will post pictures from trips as I travel, but I have it set so that only my friends can see them. Is the 'man' really my 'friend' as well?