Hikers found after 2-hour search

Local News

Discussion

November 16, 2009

Cell phone GPS helped rescue squads locate couple that had lost flashlight

Anonymous The Times-Tribune Mon Nov 16, 2009, 03:15 PM EST

By Samantha Swindler / Managing Editor

A young couple that was hiking near Cumberland Falls and lost their flashlight was located by volunteer firefighters after an approximately two-hour search Friday night.

Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Chief Kevin Gibbs said the man and woman — identified as Chris Price of Hebron, Ky. and Ms. Jerry Rose of Corbin by the Whitley County emergency management coordinator — had started hiking the Dogslaughter Falls trail at about 3:30 p.m. Friday. By the time it got dark, they realized they didn’t have their flashlight.

“They just lost their flashlight and had enough common sense to stay put and call 911,” Gibbs said.

The couple was located about a quarter of a mile from the trailhead, he said, after a roughly two-hour search. The man’s cell phone was able to determine within about 100 meters where they were located, but it took some time for searchers to find them.

“Not only did they have limited service, but their cell phone was almost dead,” Gibbs said.

Seven firefighters with Oak Grove VFD responded to the scene, along with members of other rescue squads.

“(Whitley County Emergency Management Coordinator) Danny Moses called in McCreary and Whitley County Rescue Squads, and about the time McCreary County got on scene was about the time we found them,” Gibbs said. “... Whitley County Rescue Squad was on scene probably 15 minutes before they were located.”

The couple called 911 around 7:30 p.m. and were found at around 9:30 p.m.

Gibbs said Oak Grove VFD responds to eight to ten lost hiker reports every year.

“It’s normally over with by this time of year, but with the weather that we’ve had, people are outside... They don’t realize how quickly it gets dark,” he said.

Text Only

Local News

Sawyers named Times-Tribune publisher
Longtime Sentinel-Echo Publisher Willie Sawyers has been named regional publisher with oversight of both the London paper and the Times-Tribune in Corbin.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
7 arrested in drug roundup
Seven people were arrested Thursday following a two-month investigation that involved undercover buys of prescription drugs, according to Corbin Police Public Affairs Officer Major Rob Jones.

February 3, 2012
Police seek man wanted for home burglaries
Police are seeking the public’s help in finding a man they believe is responsible for the theft of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry from several burglarized homes in Williamsburg and Whitley County, according to Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird.

February 3, 2012 1 Photo
No report yet on body of Bright
The body of Delmer Bright was returned from the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s office Wednesday by Knox Coroner Mike Blevins.

February 2, 2012
Area legislators wait and see on redistricting
If the courts find the State Legislature’s redistricting plan constitutional, State Representative Marie Rader will find her 89th House District changing dramatically — with a razor-thin strip through the middle of Laurel County, connecting both Jackson and McCreary Counties.

February 2, 2012
Whitley, McCreary Farm Service Agencies to meet today
At 2 p.m. today at the Whitley County Extension office, agriculturalists will discuss the consolidation of the Whitley and McCreary counties’ USDA Farm Service Agencies.

February 2, 2012
Police Roundup - Feb. 2, 2012
London’s Kentucky State Police post has received a report of a scam or fraud trying to get credit or debit card account numbers.

February 2, 2012
Corbin sewer repairs to continue through May
Those crews doing work in the rain on some downtown Corbin streets Wednesday were digging in for a reason — to stop water from getting into the city’s sanitary sewer collection system. And the work will continue at times throughout the next few months before it’s finished.

February 2, 2012
Corbin Main Street prepares for new year
The man who heads Corbin’s Main Street Program says it’s time to do some exciting things. And they run from starting the early stages of master planning for the downtown area, all the way to introducing a new, user-friendly website for his organization.

February 1, 2012 1 Photo
Man dies after crash with train
Delmer Bright, 83, of Flat Lick, was pronounced dead Tuesday at Knox County Hospital just after 1 p.m.

February 1, 2012 1 Story
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Discussion

Hikers found after 2-hour search

Cell phone GPS helped rescue squads locate couple that had lost flashlight

Site Map

Contact Us