Helicopters searching for 2 lost hikers

[Cy Kaicener]

Tina has informed me that a locator beacon was activated in the San Jacinto mountains where two hikers may be lost. rmru.org had a brief headline yesterday but no details. The Press Enterprise has this story.

http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/news/d ... n-the.html

[asabat]

If no contact has been made, how do they know the beacon was activated for TWO men?

[Perry]

Probably

A. The owner of the beacon matches up with a recent permit, which lists two people.

or

B. Reporters screwing up stories as usual. Does the PE do this as much as the Desert Sun?

[tinaballina]

B. Reporters screwing up stories as usual. Does the PE do this as much as the Desert Sun?[/quote]

I hope not but then again I am not in editorial, I am in advertising over here...

[Jim Bakos]

Actually, we never got a helicopter in the air for the search; the helicopter arrived just as we found them in the field (though CAP did fly the area for us in a fixed wing).

The reason we knew there were two is because of the PLB registration information. The Sheriff called the phone number listed, and the wife of one of the two missing informed us that there were two men out hiking.

So… If you purchase a PLB, don’t forget to register it on-line. It makes all the difference!

Everyone is out of the field, safe and sound.

Hike Safe!

--Jim

[asabat]

Thanks, Jim. I'll chalk this up to an incomplete news report. When they said they had not contacted the men, they didn't mention they had contacted someone at their home who provided information. I knew PLBs didn't transmit more than location, and it sounded like a PLB rather than a Spot.