While walking with her dog in Mary Jane Canyon, east of Arches National Park, she noticed flooding approaching and attempted to move to higher ground. GCSAR reported that the woman reached a sandbar above the creek, but rising water eroded the sand, causing both her and her dog to fall into the floodwaters. She then sent an SOS alert via satellite on her iPhone, a feature that allows users to contact emergency services in areas without cellular coverage. It can be manually or automatically activated using crash detection and fall detection.
However, her phone displayed an error sending the message. Believing the SOS message couldn't be delivered, she began walking down the canyon with her dog.
The satellite-based SOS messaging feature is available on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models.
However, the police received her request for help about 8 minutes after her phone indicated the message couldn't be sent. Although they didn't receive detailed information about the woman's situation, the police still obtained her GPS coordinates at the time the message was sent.
Rescue teams quickly dispatched personnel into the canyon and deployed a helicopter to search for the trapped individuals. Eventually, they rescued the woman and her dog, both covered in mud from head to toe, approximately 3.2 kilometers downstream from their initial coordinates.
GCSAR advises hikers to study their planned route, terrain, and weather forecasts. Police warn that rapidly forming thunderstorms can flood canyons from a distance. Previously, Apple's emergency SOS feature has also helped many tourists who got lost in the mountains.
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