http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7395648.stm


Scots glen SOS picked up in USA

A distress signal sent by a Danish hill walker from a Scottish glen was picked up in Texas, before being relayed back to Highlands police.

The rescue in Glen Etive, near Fort William, was sparked by an emergency beacon the size of a TV remote control.

Neils Vinter, who felt unwell, sent a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) text, which was picked up 4,000 miles away.

A Royal Navy helicopter from Prestwick, Ayrshire, flew him to hospital.

The multi-national, inter-agency rescue began at 0300 BST on Monday.

The 60-year-old, who lives in Sunderland and was attempting a coast-to-coast trek across Scotland, pressed an emergency button on his device when suffered acute abdominal pain.

His text detected by security and communications firm GEOS's emergency response centre in Houston, Texas, which alerted Northern Constabulary's Fort William Police Station, 15 miles from where the walker was located.

Officers contacted Northern's force operations centre in Inverness for clarification before the RAF Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre at Kinloss, in Moray, was contacted.

The RAF team, who co-ordinate the UK's search and rescue helicopters, scrambled a Royal Navy Sea King from Prestwick.

Mr Vinter was taken to Belford Hospital at Fort William where he has been receiving treatment.

Rescue co-ordinator Flt Sgt Tim Dickinson said: "This was a perfect example of excellent cooperation between the police at Fort William and the military search and rescue services."

Northern Constabulary said: "The system means that the monitoring company call local police.

"An operator at Fort William Police Station got the call and was given the digital co-ordinates in relation to the man's location.

"The operator then contacted the force operations centre in Inverness for clarification and the call was then put through to RAF Kinloss."

GEOS monitors the global mobile phone and satellite market and offers services for users of GPS-equipped mobile/cell-phones, satellite phones and other GPS-equipped devices.

Hi Ian,

Glen Etive is quite a nice place to be rescued from. Nice to see the SPOT product working so well.

It sounds like the “emergency beacon device” Neils Vinter used might have been a SPOT Satellite Messenger, which Doug Ritter has given us a great synopsis of. According to their own website, here:


Doug Ritter also noted in his “First Look” Review that:

Yes, I know it well. My late father in law was a hill-shepherd up that way. He spent most of his life on the hills and would laugh at the kit we carry. Crook, Tackety boots, Tweed plus twos and a gas mask bag with his flask and piece was all he needed, whatever the weather.

Was it a SPOT that was used or a GPS enabled phone?