Off-roaders get stranded with no cell service — but an iPhone feature saves them
The Tacoma truck was stuck — really stuck. This was not how the group expected Christmas Day to end up. They were from Massachusetts, visiting Colorado, and thought they’d go off-roading. They were miles from a paved road with zero cell service and no way to call for help.
At 6:30 p.m. that evening, the team at Colorado 4x4 Rescue and Recovery got a strange message referred to them from the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office.
“Stuck vehicle,” it read.
The message had arrived via satellite, through the SOS feature available on newer iPhones.
Kimi McBryde, the organization’s public information officer, was puzzled. Short, vague text messages were not the way their rescue missions usually began.
“Typically, people contact us through our direct line or our local sheriffs call us and refer the message over to us,” McBryde told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
Phone calls give rescue teams like McBryde’s an opportunity to gather essential information, such as how many people need help, what their mental state is and whether or not they need medical attention. This time, rescuers just knew someone was stuck. And their location.
“911 was able to get us a latitude and longitude from that text message based on the satellite location,” she said. This was essential.
With just this information, the rescue team was able to find the stranded group within two hours of the text.
“When we got on scene, one person was reporting some high altitude sickness,” McBryde said. “We were able to give him some snacks and water and he was fine. But high altitude sickness can be deadly. He was lucky on that front.”
This is where McBryde hopes the SOS feature will improve. In her line of work, more information is always better. Having very little information about the needs of the stranded group can make a mission like this one more difficult.
Regardless, McBryde is happy to see satellite technology becoming more ubiquitous.
“Its a game changer,” she said. “I wish it was on all the (phone) models.”
Currently, the SOS feature is only available on iPhone 14s and 15s. Users of those phones can text emergency services via satellite while off-grid with no cellular or WiFi coverage. An iPhone user in an emergency can use the feature by first trying to call 911. If it doesn’t connect, send an SOS alert by tapping the “Emergency Text via Satellite” button. You can also go to “Messages” to text 911 or SOS, and then tap “Emergency Services.” From there, tap “Report Emergency.”
McBryde hopes the SOS technology will spread quickly.
“It’s providing more accessibility to the wilderness,” she said. “Everyone has a phone.”
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