GIS Used to Help Find Lost Hiker

Government Technology has an story about how GIS was used in the effort to find Dean Christy, a retired educator, who became disoriented due to fog while hiking in the San Bernardino Mountains, California.  The search and rescue effort benefited from San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s (SBSD) Mobile Mapping Unit which helped prepare maps pinpointing areas to search for the lost hiker.  The effort used a combination of GPS to capture location of clues, viewshed analysis to narrow down the location of the 911 calls, and other mapping to help focus the searching.  The article delves into the wide range of spatial techniques used to try and rescue Dean Christy.  Sadly, the rescuers weren’t not able to located him in time and his body was found only 1.5 miles from his home.

Read more: GIS Aids in Search for Lost Hiker – Government Technology