{"id":797509,"date":"2019-07-10T15:12:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-10T21:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/tech-makes-it-easier-to-search-wilderness-for-missing-people\/"},"modified":"2019-07-10T15:12:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-10T21:12:00","slug":"tech-makes-it-easier-to-search-wilderness-for-missing-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/tech-makes-it-easier-to-search-wilderness-for-missing-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech makes it easier to search wilderness for missing people"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.9105651105651\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-368625-997\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Yesenia D'Alessandro \/ AP | Yesenia D'Alessandro | This photo provided by Yesenia D'Alessandro shows a volunteer climbing in the Makawao Forest Reserve in Haiku, Hawaii on May 16 while searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike. The dramatic rescue of a hiker lost for more than two weeks in a remote Hawaii forest is showing how emerging technology is helping search teams more efficiently scour the wilderness for missing people.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>This photo provided by Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro shows a volunteer climbing in the Makawao Forest Reserve in Haiku, Hawaii on May 16 while searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike. The dramatic rescue of a hiker lost for more than two weeks in a remote Hawaii forest is showing how emerging technology is helping search teams more efficiently scour the wilderness for missing people.<\/strong><br \/>Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro \/ AP | Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1.jpg\" alt=\"This photo provided by Yesenia D'Alessandro shows a volunteer climbing in the Makawao Forest Reserve in Haiku, Hawaii on May 16 while searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike. The dramatic rescue of a hiker lost for more than two weeks in a remote Hawaii forest is showing how emerging technology is helping search teams more efficiently scour the wilderness for missing people.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Michael St. John \/ AP | Marin County Sheriff's SAR unit | This April 17, 2017, photo provided by Michael St. John shows search and rescue volunteer and SARTopo creator Matt Jacobs, left, and search and rescue volunteers Mike Russo, center, and Bob Gehlen, right, in Sierraville, California, as they consult a SARTopo map while making plans to search for a missing aircraft.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"4.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"20\">\n<p><strong>This April 17, 2017, photo provided by Michael St. John shows search and rescue volunteer and SARTopo creator Matt Jacobs, left, and search and rescue volunteers Mike Russo, center, and Bob Gehlen, right, in Sierraville, California, as they consult a SARTopo map while making plans to search for a missing aircraft.<\/strong><br \/>Michael St. John \/ AP | Marin County Sheriff&#8217;s SAR unit<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-1.jpg\" alt=\"This April 17, 2017, photo provided by Michael St. John shows search and rescue volunteer and SARTopo creator Matt Jacobs, left, and search and rescue volunteers Mike Russo, center, and Bob Gehlen, right, in Sierraville, California, as they consult a SARTopo map while making plans to search for a missing aircraft.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Yesenia D'Alessandro \/ AP | Yesenia D'Alessandro | This May 19 screenshot of a cell phone screen provided by Yesenia D'Alessandro shows the route, as measured by the cellphone's GPS, taken by a volunteer who was searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike in Haiku, Hawaii.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><strong>This May 19 screenshot of a cell phone screen provided by Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro shows the route, as measured by the cellphone&#8217;s GPS, taken by a volunteer who was searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike in Haiku, Hawaii.<\/strong><br \/>Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro \/ AP | Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-2.jpg\" alt=\"This May 19 screenshot of a cell phone screen provided by Yesenia D'Alessandro shows the route, as measured by the cellphone's GPS, taken by a volunteer who was searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike in Haiku, Hawaii.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Craig T. Kojima \/ AP File | Honolulu Star-Advertiser | Rescued hiker Amanda Eller speaks during a news conference at Maui Memorial Hospital in Wailuku, Hawaii on May 28. Eller said she fell to the ground and started bawling when a rescue helicopter spotted her in a forest where she had survived for two weeks by eating plants and drinking stream water.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Rescued hiker Amanda Eller speaks during a news conference at Maui Memorial Hospital in Wailuku, Hawaii on May 28. Eller said she fell to the ground and started bawling when a rescue helicopter spotted her in a forest where she had survived for two weeks by eating plants and drinking stream water.<\/strong><br \/>Craig T. Kojima \/ AP File | Honolulu Star-Advertiser<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-3.jpg\" alt=\"Rescued hiker Amanda Eller speaks during a news conference at Maui Memorial Hospital in Wailuku, Hawaii on May 28. Eller said she fell to the ground and started bawling when a rescue helicopter spotted her in a forest where she had survived for two weeks by eating plants and drinking stream water.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Yesenia D'Alessandro \/ AP | Yesenia D'Alessandro | This photo provided by Yesenia D'Alessandro shows a volunteer in the Makawao Forest Reserve in Haiku, Hawaii on May 16 while searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>This photo provided by Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro shows a volunteer in the Makawao Forest Reserve in Haiku, Hawaii on May 16 while searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike.<\/strong><br \/>Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro \/ AP | Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-4.jpg\" alt=\"This photo provided by Yesenia D'Alessandro shows a volunteer in the Makawao Forest Reserve in Haiku, Hawaii on May 16 while searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-5.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Craig T. Kojima \/ AP | Honolulu Star-Advertiser | Rescued hiker Amanda Eller, left, embraces her mother, Julia Eller, before a news conference begins at Maui Memorial Hospital in Wailuku, Hawaii on May 28.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><strong>Rescued hiker Amanda Eller, left, embraces her mother, Julia Eller, before a news conference begins at Maui Memorial Hospital in Wailuku, Hawaii on May 28.<\/strong><br \/>Craig T. Kojima \/ AP | Honolulu Star-Advertiser<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Hawaii_Forest_Rescue-Technology_95455-83afd1-5.jpg\" alt=\"Rescued hiker Amanda Eller, left, embraces her mother, Julia Eller, before a news conference begins at Maui Memorial Hospital in Wailuku, Hawaii on May 28.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/sports\/tech-makes-it-easier-to-search-wilderness-for-missing-people\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/sports\/tech-makes-it-easier-to-search-wilderness-for-missing-people\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">HONOLULU \u2014 Yesenia D\u2019Alessandro loaded a GPS tracking app on her cellphone and trudged into a remote Hawaii forest, joining more than 100 other volunteers looking for a missing hiker.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">She climbed through muddy ravines, crossed streams and faced steep drop-offs in the thick tangle of trees and ferns where her college friend Amanda Eller vanished in May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cYou have to search everywhere,\u201d said D\u2019Alessandro, who flew in from Maryland. \u201cYou have to go down to that stream bed, even though you don\u2019t want to. She could be down there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">D\u2019Alessandro and others gathered GPS data of the ground they covered, and organizers put it on a specialized digital map to help better understand where to look next.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The technology led volunteers to Eller, who was found next to a waterfall and survived for 17 days in the Maui forest by eating plants and drinking stream water. Her dramatic rescue shows how emerging technology helps search teams more efficiently scour the wilderness for missing people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt kind of led us to search outside of that high-priority area to where we actually found Amanda,\u201d her father, John Eller, said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">More U.S. teams are turning to the technology that combines cellphone GPS with digital maps detailing cliffs, caves, waterways and other hard-to-search terrain. It helps manage the work of large numbers of volunteers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The system showed when Hawaii searchers had covered a 2-mile (3-kilometer) radius around Eller\u2019s car. After that, searchers sent a helicopter farther into the forest, where they spotted the 35-year-old physical therapist and yoga instructor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe never would have pushed out if we hadn\u2019t searched the reasonable area first. There\u2019s no reason to start reaching further and further out of the box if we hadn\u2019t completely searched the box,\u201d said Chris Berquist, a volunteer search leader.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">David Kovar, advocacy director for the nonprofit National Association for Search and Rescue, said most search and rescue teams use digital maps. That could mean anything from basic Google Maps to specialized software called SARTopo, which California search and rescue experts used to advise Maui volunteers from afar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Search organizers in Hawaii asked volunteers to download a $3.99 app called GPS Tracks, which draws lines on a map showing where a user has walked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">GPS data revealed that searchers were covering the same areas repeatedly as heavy foliage or natural barriers like cliffs blocked their path, Berquist said. Organizers started dropping digital pins on volunteers\u2019 maps to give them targets, pushing volunteers to cover more ground and making the search more accurate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">When searchers ran into cliffs or pools of water, Berquist had them place digital pins on their maps. Organizers then sent drone pilots or rappelling experts to the cliffs and divers to the water.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Organizers fed the GPS data to the California team, which used SARTopo to overlay it on topographical maps, allowing everyone to see what areas had already been searched and what still needed to be checked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Matt Jacobs, a California software engineer and search volunteer, developed SARTopo more than eight years ago after noticing teams struggling to match details on wilderness maps drawn by different agencies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">What started as a hobby project has grown in popularity in the past couple of years to become Jacobs\u2019 full-time job. Search and rescue teams from Oregon to North Carolina have started using it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Searchers used it in March as 100 volunteers fanned out in a Northern California forest, eventually finding 8-year-old Leia Carrico and her 5-year-old sister, Caroline, who got lost near their home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Last month, teams used it to help locate a 67-year-old hiker who had veered off a trail in a state park north of San Francisco. A California Highway Patrol airplane using an infrared camera spotted the man.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">SARTopo also is becoming available as a cellphone app, which will make it even easier to directly connect the GPS data with digital maps so searchers can view them wherever they are.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Government officials are looking at adopting new technology, including in Hawaii. Most large searches are done by volunteers because many places don\u2019t do enough of them to keep official teams on staff.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maui firefighters used hand-drawn maps as they looked for Eller over the first three days of her going missing. That\u2019s because the trail system in the Makawao Forest Reserve where she got lost doesn\u2019t appear on Google Maps. County officials also overlaid aerial searches onto a satellite map.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maui County Fire Services Chief Rylan Yatsushiro said the Maui Fire Department would adopt similar technology used by volunteers \u2014 who kept the search going after the first three days \u2014 if firefighters found it helpful after studying available options.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Mike St. John, volunteer leader of the search and rescue unit at the Marin County Sheriff\u2019s Office in California, said GPS tracking of where people have looked is \u201creally critical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s about using GPS maps and utilizing GPS to make sure you\u2019re hitting your assignment,\u201d said St. John, who was among those in California advising the Maui team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">St. John said his search and rescue experts are not set up to offer the same type of help to others that they gave to Maui but are trying to figure out how to do that in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Berquist, the Hawaii search leader, visited California this week to talk with St. John about how Marin County\u2019s volunteer program works. He aims to set up something similar back in Maui.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">After technology helped find Eller, her father is donating software and other equipment to Berquist\u2019s team, developing a search and rescue app and giving $10,000 to support Hawaii searches and rescues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe saw a huge need. And we feel so lucky with everything everybody did for us, so we\u2019re looking to give back,\u201d John Eller said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/sports\/tech-makes-it-easier-to-search-wilderness-for-missing-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This photo provided by Yesenia D&#8217;Alessandro shows a volunteer climbing in the Makawao Forest Reserve in Haiku, Hawaii on May 16 while searching for Amanda Eller, a yoga teacher and physical therapist who went missing during a hike. The dramatic rescue of a hiker lost for more than two weeks in a remote Hawaii forest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-797509","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 18:34:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797509\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}