Search from space for missing rambler
David Knox • Published 8 Jan 2013 09:30
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A HOGMANAY hunt for a missing walker ended well after some help from space.
Police and Mountain Rescue volunteers were called to Glentress on Monday afternoon when a man in his 50s phoned for help.
The rambler had become lost in the woods - with light and temperatures quickly dropping.
Glentress Forest covers almost 30 square kilometres.
And despite intermittent mobile phone calls to the missing man, the search teams were unable to find him.
Dave Wright from Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team told us: "Given the time of day, cold weather conditions and potential for the missing person to become a victim of hypothermia, we were mobilised immediately.
"Team members split into small groups and carried out hasty searches of paths and tracks through the forest to no avail."
The Borders Search and Rescue Unit were drafted into help as darkness fell upon Glentress as well as three dogs and their handlers from the Search and Rescue Dog Association.
And a helicopter from Strathclyde Police also joined the missing man mission.
But it took technology tracking from space to finally find the walker.
Mr Wright added: "We attempted to make use of specialist search and rescue system called SARLOC.
"SARLOC has been specifically developed to help locate missing persons - it works when a web link is sent by text to the missing person's internet enabled mobile phone.
"Once the link is accessed by the missing person, the application utilises the phone's GPS to send the position to a secure website which is then used by us."
The satellite system provided the search teams with a grid reference.
And just after 8.30pm the man was found.
He was treated at the scene by Scottish Ambulance Service for mild hypothermia - but then allowed to return to the local hotel where he was staying.
As well as 15 members of the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team and eight from Borders Search and Rescue, the search party was also made up of 13 volunteers from the Moffat Mountain Rescue Team.
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