Injured Alpine Climber Aided by ACR PLB
Cedar City, UT - A Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) has again played a significant role in the location and rescue of an outdoors enthusiast-this time a novice woman climber near the Brian Head ski-resort in Southern Utah.
The rescued party was a 47-year-old New Jersey woman, who fell and sustained serious head injuries while hiking and climbing with her family on June 3rd. Her brother, an experienced climber and a local physician from St. George, Utah, was carrying a SARLink 406 GPS Personal Locator Beacon, which, when activated, put into motion a Search and Rescue (SAR) operation that eventually led to her being evacuated by helicopter.
PLB rescues on land have only become available since a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) waiver ruling went into effect July 2003 approving the sale and use of PLBs for land use in the United States.