ResQLink+ Saves Teenage Hiker in New Zealand

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ResQLink+ Saves Teenage Hiker in New Zealand

ResQLink+ Saves Teenage Hiker in New Zealand
Lives saved

1

Hiking

Hiking

Lake

Lake

Medical emergency

Medical emergency

Normal conditions

Normal conditions

Hiking

ResQLink+ Saves Teenage Hiker in New Zealand

-43.544179277966°S, 171.03221547888°E

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Olivia

What happened?

It was a Sunday evening, four very hungover teenagers were starting a quick hike up to Mystery Lake to camp for the night. The area was a short two to three hour walk that is popular for day hikers and mountain bikers. The weather was perfect and we had a great night camping up by the pristine lake.

Search and Rescue Aircraft

The next morning, we slowly packed up tents and started the (hopefully) quick walk down to the cars and civilization. Not even 15 minutes into the walk, one of the party members slipped over, falling face-first into the dirt. We didn’t think much of it until we rolled her over to find her kneecap on the side of her leg and absolutely no chance of her walking anymore. 

Search and Rescue and Hikers Move Teen to Aircraft

A quick assessment lead us to set the ResQLink+ PLB off straight away and two of the party climbed the closest hill to try to get phone coverage to alert search and rescue as to what had happened. Unsuccessfully, we climbed back down and waited. Just under an hour after setting off the ResQLink+ PLB we heard the sound of a chopper in the distance and were all incredibly relieved when the Westpac Rescue flew over us and dropped a paramedic off.

Moving Hiker into Aircraft

Over the next hour, we reset the kneecap, packaged her up and got her in the helicopter. One member of the party also got a free ride back to the hospital while the remaining two scrambled down quickly (and safely) to drive back to the city and let everyone know we were ok.

Words of wisdom

This was a very easy tramp, didn’t think we’d even take the PLB but luckily we did! Would’ve been a very painful and slow stretcher out if we didn’t. The moral of the story is never to underestimate even the shortest and easiest of hikes.

Thank you note

Thanks guys so much! Saved us a lot of pain and stress, worked flawlessly after being carried tramping for almost 10 years and no incident.

Rescue location

F24J+8V Ashburton Lakes, Canterbury, New Zealand

Rescue team

Local Search and Rescue

ResQLink™+

Go to product details

This Product has been Upgraded. Click Here for Available Upgrade. It may be small, but it's tough. The ResQLink™+ Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is a buoyant, GPS-enabled rescue beacon that's suited for outdoor adventures of all sizes (think: everything from hiking and cycling to hunting and fishing). Should you run into an unexpected survival situation, the ResQLink+ PLB will relay your location to a network of search and rescue satellites, allowing local first responders to more easily get you home safe and sound. Be Prepared for the Unpredictable!  
  • Buoyant
  • LED strobe light
  • Self Test
  • 66 Channel GPS
  • Easy emergency activation
  • Antenna clip

WARNING: PROP 65

Out of stock

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