Ten hikers rescued from California’s ‘Last Chance’ canyon using Apple’s SOS feature
Hikers spent hours in wilderness at night
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A group of hikers stranded in Southern California used the iPhone’s Emergency SOS feature to alert responders to their location, according to police.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to the missing group of 10 around 8pm on Friday evening.
Family members also contacted the police when the group failed to show up at the trailhead where the group embarked towards the “Last Chance” area of the Los Padres National Forest’s Santa Paula Canyon.
“These hikers were able to contact Ventura County Sheriff’s Dispatch through the Apple Emergency SOS feature and provided valuable information such as a possible location and if immediate medical aid was needed,” police wrote in a press release.
A team of volunteers from the Upper Ojai Search and Rescue unit hiked four miles at night in treacherous, low-visibility conditions and made contact with the missing hikers around 11.15pm.
“Most of the hikers were not prepared for the hike and were provided with food, drinking water and lighting equipment as they were led out to the Santa Paula Canyon Trailhead,” police wrote.
The party was returned to safety by 2.40am the following day.
None were injured or required medical attention.
In 2022, Apple debuted a version of the Emergency SOS feature that allows customers to use satellite connectivity to reach authorities even if they don’t have mobile reception.
Emergency SOS can be activated by holding the side button and one of the volume buttons on an iPhone.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments