A Durango-based helicopter company is testing a new tool that allows helicopter search and rescue teams to locate and communicate with missing and distressed people in Colorado’s backcountry in minutes, even if they are stuck in an area without cell phone service.
The technology, similar to a miniature cell phone tower, attaches to the outside of a helicopter and allows searchers to pinpoint the locations of cell phones within a 5-mile radius using a map on a tablet, Dr. Tim Durkin, a search and rescue program coordinator for Colorado Highland Helicopters.
“As we detect the phone, a spot actually appears on the map and as we fly through that area, that spot gets smaller and smaller until we can see exactly where they are,” Durkin said.
“That process of detecting and focusing on one specific location takes about a minute – not that long at all.”
Depending on the situation, search and rescue teams can then send ground crews with the person’s location or land the helicopter if there is an open area nearby and conditions allow for a safe landing, Durkin said.
During a test mission in La Plata Canyon, northwest of Durango, search crews found the two people they were looking for within two minutes and 14 seconds, Durkin said.
The technology, called Lifeseeker, was developed by Spain-based company CENTUM research & technology and is currently being approved by the Federal Communications Commission before it can be sold to the state or provinces in hopes of using it for their SAR efforts, says he. said.
La Plata Canyon is bordered on either side by several peaks of 12,000 and 13,000 feet, with a dense forest at the bottom. There have been several high-profile search and rescue missions to look for missing hikers and ultrarunners in the remote, mountainous region.
The rugged terrain, similar to many parts of Colorado, makes it extremely challenging for searchers to spot people from the air or on the ground. Some past missions lasted weeks before searchers aborted their ground missions without finding the person they were looking for.
“Even two grown adults standing there under the tree cover, even if we can look at the screen and say, ‘we know exactly where they are,’ and we’re circling in a helicopter 100 feet away from the trees, you can’t doing. see them because the tree cover is so dense,” said Durkin, an emergency medicine physician.
“Trying to find someone without any additional technology to see them is really, really difficult, if not almost impossible.”
It takes about three minutes to install a Lifeseeker unit into a helicopter for a search and rescue mission, said Dr. Tim Durkin, search and rescue program coordinator for Colorado Highland Helicopters. (Photo courtesy of Tim Durkin)
The radio-based technology requires a clear view of the site without interference to pick up the cell phone signal. When conditions and terrain are right, it can detect a cell phone up to nearly 20 miles away.
It takes about three minutes to attach the Lifeseeker unit to a helicopter when needed for a search and rescue mission, Durkin said.
SAR can also use the tool to send text messages to the missing person, for example advising them to stay in one area if they are injured, or to go to an open area where a helicopter can pick them up.
The tool also has a broadcast function that allows SAR to send a message to a group of people within a certain range, similar to an Amber Alert for a missing child, to warn them of a wildfire or flood, Durkin said.
The new technology could be a lifesaving tool for the state’s roughly 2,500 search and rescue volunteers who respond to calls from distressed people in the backcountry, said Jeff Sparhawk, executive director of the Colorado Search and Rescue Association, which manages the state’s teams operating among county sheriffs.
For example, finding a person with dementia or a missing child without a cell phone may require a different approach than a search for a missing hiker last seen on the windswept summit of a 13,000-foot mountain peak.
Aerial rescuers use a variety of technology to search for people, such as high-resolution video filtered by software that can identify colors not normally found in nature, such as royal blue. SAR also has access to the state’s aircraft that use infrared sensors to detect temperature differences on the ground.
Still, the success rate of search and rescue teams in visual search from helicopters is not very high, Sparhawk said.
“Search in our valleys, in our mountains, is just very difficult. It is also difficult when people wear muted colors – to find someone gray among ten billion gray rocks is very difficult,” he said.
The Lifeseeker technology could make a big difference for searchers looking for someone in an area beyond cell phone range, but only if the person’s phone has power, Sparhawk said.
“It’s a balancing act. From our perspective, cell phone batteries are a concern for us. When going for a walk, we’ve taught people to turn off your phone, put it on airplane mode, or conserve battery life as much as possible. Usually this means disconnecting from the network,” Sparhawk said.
“So if they save their cell phone battery, and they don’t hear a helicopter and don’t turn it back on, it won’t make a difference to them. But if they get lost, obviously they should turn on their cell phone and try to get coverage,” he said.
A task force designed to better support search and rescue operations across the state cited improving field communications as a way to keep rescuers in the backcountry without passing costs on to those calling for help.
The three T’s
Travel planning: Leave a detailed plan at someone’s home, including the trailhead where you will park, your intended route, your intended destination, who will be with you, and what time you are expected back. If you have not returned home within a reasonable time given your plan, the person should call 911 to report that you are late.
Course: Make sure you have the skills, ability, experience and physical fitness for the adventure you are planning.
Take the essentials: Bring the 10 essentials, plus any sport-specific equipment you need.
The 111-page report published in 2022 recommended providing sheriffs and backcountry search and rescue teams with funding to purchase and upgrade communications technologies, and studying the value of helicopters dedicated to rescue needs.
Many search and rescue teams in the state have been overwhelmed in recent years by a dramatic increase in calls.
“How successful our tourism industry has been is both a blessing and a curse for us,” Sparhawk said. “We support the tourism economy to the extent that we can and want to harm it, but I think population growth and the increase in tourism really concerns us.”
Most calls come in during the summer, while winter missions typically require more energy, forcing searchers to navigate precarious avalanche-prone terrain, he said.
Colorado Search and Rescue advises people to recreate in the backcountry as safely as possible by following the three T’s: trip planning, training and bringing the essentials.
‘Most people go on an adventure without expecting to need help, so they enjoy their day. They should, Sparhawk said. “This is the what-if situation that not everyone thinks about.”
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