A good Samaritan helped locate a lost hiker in California on Tuesday using satellite imagery and his careful eye for the terrain.
Rene Compean sent a photo of himself to a friend in the Mt. Waterman area Monday, telling him that he was lost and that his phone was about to die. The photo showed Compean’s legs as he sat over the edge of a cliff.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office sent a tweet Tuesday asking for help from hikers who might be able to identify the location.
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Are You an Avid Hiker in the Mt. Waterman Area? #LASD SAR Teams need help locating a #missing hiker. He sent this picture to a friend. His car was found near Buckhorn Campground/Trailhead. Call us if you recognize the area pictured below 818-248-3464. https://t.co/Xi0VL6Mxfi pic.twitter.com/1lUMrgj4y9
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) April 13, 2021
Ben Kuo worked on finding the location using satellite imagery, eventually matching the location to what he saw online, he said.
“I’ve got a very weird hobby, which is, I love taking a look at photos and figuring out where they’re taken,” Kuo told California‘s NBC 4.
“You don’t think that sitting behind a computer and looking at a picture and saying, ‘Oh, it looks like that might be where he is,’ would lead to a person being rescued,” Kuo told KCAL 9. “I was hoping I didn’t send them on a wild goose chase, and then they’d get mad at me.”
“That particular point that he theorized he could be at happened to overlay within the cellphone terrain data that we had,” LASD Sgt. John Gilbert said, according to ABC 7. “So we figured, we didn’t have any other good leads at that time, so why not check it out?”
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Rescuers found Compean using the information and airlifted him to safety. He did not need to be hospitalized, authorities said.
“I crazy appreciate what you did … I really don’t know if I could make it there another day. It was just so cold,” Compean told Kuo virtually.
We are so grateful for a happy ending to this search. A huge TY to @AltadenaMRT @SierraMadreSAR Antelope Valley SAR, @SCVSHERIFF SAR, and @SEBLASD Air-5. We further want to thank the online community and especially @ai6yrham. His clue greatly helped us find the hiker.#LASD pic.twitter.com/Ope322D0Z2
— Montrose Search & Rescue Team (Ca.) (@MontroseSAR) April 14, 2021
