Luckily it seems that most chopper pilots/crew are literate in
lat/long. (IN addition to our Sheriff deputies....some of them are ok)
I've had several occasions to have not only DPS Ranger, but also the
news choppers (3,4,5,15,12) overheard helping on a search and we
direct them with a combination of (obvious) terrain AND coordinates.
One time I had three choppers to dispatch/direct (on radio) in
addition to a few dozen ground units (foot, jeeps, dog teams,
horses...) for a short while in the afternoon while we still had
light....had a good ending the next day with both subjects found alive
and well. (And I'm a volunteer!)
Trisha "Lightning"
Prescott
Yavapai Co Jeep Posse Communications Squad
www.ycjp.org
On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 17:27:31 -0700, "Brian - Team A.I." wrote:
MCSO has a more direct need to know, and it seems clear
that they were trained in GPS technology. I'm actually glad they do
understand it. Some of the field units (deputies, not SAR) are
starting to get their own units for collision investigation purposes.
Local PDs don't have such a need, as street addresses work perfectly
well for
them. DPS should use them, but currently doesn't. However, in the
new CAD system we're getting next month, GPS info is used, but we're
still not
being trained on it. Go figure. Usually, if it isn't asphalt, it
isn't ours. :/ When sending our Ranger helicopters out on LE or SAR
missions, they ask for coordinates. If the local PD can't provide
them
(usually the case), I find it for them to make the job easier for my
guys.
But as I said before, most of the people in the center don't
understand the
technology, and give me the "get a life" speech when I tell them about
what I do
on my days off (I'm in better shape than most of them, so go figure).
I think more than anything, they're afraid of learning it
because it sounds complicated. I should suggest to my supervisor
about
teaching a class on GPS technology and how to find where the
coordinates
point.
Brian
Team A.I.
----- Original Message -----
From:
RAND HARDIN
To: AZ-Geocaching
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 4:37
PM
Subject: Re: [Az-Geocaching] Another
cacher finds body near Las Vegas
Jake asked about whether law enforcement would understand
waypoints:
About a year ago I found a newly stolen vehicle abandoned in Bulldog
Canyon. I called the sheriffs dept and gave them the necessary
information about the vehicle and location. I then asked the
dispatcher,
if I gave her coordinates to the vehicle if that would help. She
said:
"definitely!" She told me that their search and
rescue units are equipped with GPSrs. I imagine if we
discover something anywhere "off trail" that search and
rescue would be notified. I don't know about local police
though, but I would imagine that police helicopters would be
equipped.
Rand (RandMan)
----- Original Message -----
From:
insomniak@cox.net
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 3:47
PM
To: listserv@azgeocaching.com
Subject: [Az-Geocaching] Another cacher
finds body near Las Vegas
Perhaps we should consider posting instructions on what to
do when coming across someone's unfortunate demise.I'm kinda
curious
my self as to what are the proper steps to help out law
enforcement.
Is it necessary to contact "9-1-1" or would it be more appropriate
to contant a non-emergency number?Which agency to do contact when
you are (insert your favorite caching location here.)?If you are
out
of range for your cell phone to work, how do you go about
contacting law
enforcment? Will dispatchers be able to understand you
giving them waypoint information?There are other
questions I can't think of now, but I'm sure I will later.I think
Brian of Team A.I. (my team) and Trisha would probably have alot
of
information. It only seems likely that more cachers will find
these
types of things, and knowing what to do ahead of time.Jake - Team
A.I.
(text/plain)