Re: How will the police find me.

Bill Bradshaw <bradshaw@gci.net> wrote:

micky wrote:

Going hiking tomorrow.  Finally realized I was sending my location to
my ex-GF, but I hadn't told her how to see it.   Assuming the worst,
that I break my leg and can't get off the trail, but the phone is
broken or stolen, and assuming she actually notices it's 6PM and I
still haven't texted her to say I'm done, she can see my phone's
location using the simple instructions I found on the web.

 
When I am out alone I always run a track on my GPS (not phone) which I can
follow back so I do not get lost because I am 78 years old.  If you are
really worried you should look at something like a Garmin inReach.

  We also have an old (non-phone) GPS (Garmin), which can lay
'breadcrumbs' for backtracking. Got us out of a mess in outback
Australia where there was a maze of non-signposted dirt tracks and our
maps (paper and offline smartphone ones) failed us.

  Two-way (text/SMS) satellite communication like the Garmin InReach is
of course better, but also more expensive, because of the monthly costs
for the subscription.

  When we're in the boonies of Australia, we have a PLB (Personal
Locator Beacon). That gives only a signal - not a message - and your
location to the satellite, but doesn't need a costly subscription.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_position-indicating_radiobeacon#Personal_Locator_Beacon>

--
Frank Slootweg, smartphone, maps, GPS, compass and PLB.