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Injured Motorcylcist Aides in Rescue by Activating GPS Device

HINKLEY:(VVNG.com)- A 63-year-old Temecula man was injured during an off-road motorcycle accident and required the assistance from search and rescue personnel after activating his “SPOT” satellite device.

According to a press release, on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at approximately 9:12 a.m., deputies from the Barstow Sheriff’s Station and Sheriff’s Aviation responded to a request for assistance in the area of Fossil Bed Road, north of Irwin Road in Hinkley.

SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger
SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger

The victim, Tom Madlem, was on a solo motorcycle camping trip in the Hinkley, riding his motorcycle approximately 1 hour northwest of Owl Camp Ground when he crashed and sustained serious, but non life threatening injuries. The victim activated his emergency function of his SPOT Satellite device. The California Office of Emergency Services was alerted to the victim’s GPS coordinates and in turn contacted Sheriff’s Volunteer Forces.

Sheriff’s helicopter 40King4, with a crew of Corporal Mike Gilley and Sergeant Daniel Futscher, responded from Rialto to begin searching for the victim, as deputies from Barstow Station began a ground search attempting to locate the victim.

At approximately 10:16 am , 40King4 located the victim at the exact GPS coordinates they received. Based on the extent of his injuries and his remote location, the crew decided to conduct an offsite landing in Hinkley to pick up a paramedic from Barstow City Fire and fly him to the victim.

After picking up Paramedic Robert Cline, the crew conducted an offsite landing in the desert near the victim and Cline stabilized the victim. After the he was stabilized, Gilley, Futscher and Cline carried the victim to the aircraft. The crew then flew the victim back to Hinkley, where a waiting ambulance transported him to Barstow Community Hospital for treatment.

SPOT is a GPS tracking device that uses the Globalstar satellite network to provide text messaging and GPS tracking (depending on the subscription type purchased). It has a coverage area that includes a large portion of the planet, with the following exceptions: extreme northern and southern latitudes, south-eastern Africa, India, and adjacent areas immediately north of India.[1] SPOT is simplex and cannot receive user data.

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