Ham Radio Aids in Rescue

Ham Radio Aids in Rescue of Injured Colorado Hiker

While Bill Eberle, AB0MY, of Boulder, Colorado, and his wife Mary were hiking in the back country on July 21, they encountered a team of paramedics rendering aid to a 67-year-old man — Michael Schuett, of Bloomfield, Colorado — who had lost his footing while crossing a stream. Schuett had struck his head on a boulder and was found unconscious and face down in the water by another hiker, who had pulled him to safety. The paramedics, en route to a youth camp, also had stumbled onto the scene.

Lacking cell telephone coverage, Eberle put out a distress call on the hand-held transceiver he always takes along when he hikes. Promptly answering his call on the statewide Colorado Connection Repeater system was Ryan Frederick, KD0TSZ, in Colorado Springs. Frederick contacted the Boulder County Sheriff’s office. Authorities quickly turned to Scott Whitehead, KA0QPT, of Longmont, a sheriff’s department radio specialist and 30-year veteran of the Rocky Mountain Rescue Team. Whitehead was able to contact Eberle via the repeater network, and the two coordinated equipment and rescue personnel.

Schuett was evacuated from the scene, treated at an area hospital, and released. He credited ham radio for bringing the rescuers to him. — Thanks to John Bigley, N7UR, Nevada Amateur Radio Newswire