Skip to main content

Drone leads the way to safety for stranded hikers and injured dog

Two hikers and an injured dog had lost their way after five hours hiking in New Mexico Otero Canyon. Not knowing how to get back, they called 911 and asked for help. When the firefighters had located the hikers and were escorting them back to safety, they lost their way as well. At that moment a first responder used his personal drone to lead the group back to base.

First responder uses his personal drone

Two hikers and a dog lost their way on a hiking trip in the New Mexico’s Otero Canyon. Not knowing how to get back and with a dog that got injured somewhere along the way, the hikers called 911 and asked for help.

Thanks to a signal from one of the hiker’s cell phone, the firefighters were able to locate the pair. However, during their 1.5-mile rescue trek back to base, the first responders lost their way as well.

Pittsburgh’s Action News reports that one of the firefighters had a bright idea and used his personal drone to help with the rescue mission. The hikers and the first responders follow the drone back to safety taking turns carrying the injured 60-pound dog.

To learn more about this rescue mission you can watch the video here.

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d7722489.406388348!2d-111.73580379830682!3d32.54649091692162!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8718a494ecfa5d09%3A0xa5d233ddde2a1566!2sOtero+Canyon!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1526564213099&w=600&h=450]

Email sign-up form

Would you like to receive our DroneRise email every weekday morning? Enter your email below and look for an activation email in your inbox to confirm your DroneRise email sign-up.

[protected-iframe id=”5578de37b426c36a4896f2ed02c92acd-135826796-118517251″ info=”cdn-images.mailchimp.com/embedcode/slim-10_7.css” ]

Note: Support DroneDJ by buying your next drone through our site. You can use the following links directly from manufacturers, such as DJIParrotYuneec or retailers like AmazonB&HBestBuy or eBay. Thank you!

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading DroneDJ — experts who break news about DJI and the wider drone ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow DroneDJ on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Comments

Author

Avatar for Haye Kesteloo Haye Kesteloo

Haye Kesteloo is the Editor in Chief and Main Writer at DroneDJ, where he covers all drone related news and writes product reviews. He also contributes to the other sites in the 9to5Mac group such as; 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys and Electrek. Haye can be reached at haye@dronedj.com or @hayekesteloo 


Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
Please wait...processing
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
Please wait...processing