Couple of observations:

1) When reviewed with the cliched 20/20 hindsight, it is extremely hard to keep in mind how the situation looks to the guy who's in it at the time, even if you now have accurate info (which we often don't). It's like the chief problem with portraying real history in a movie: you (as the audience) have lots of information and perspective the characters don't have. Think of a realistic war scene. So that they can be told the story, the audience has all kinds of info (where the enemy is, what the enemy's motives/plans are, etc) that the hero(es) lack. It is hard to convey the situation's chaos, ambiguity, and indecision plaguing the hero. Maybe a poor analogy but I hope you see what I mean.

2) The photos from the New Mexico story show an open landscape (no canopy). A $99 SPOT-2 "toy PLB" would likely have had no trouble getting a signal out.