March 2, 2010 – In February, Brent Martin was enjoying an off-road motorcycle trip with a group of riders across a remote desert near Lake Isabella in Southern California.  He came upon an injured rider who just crashed her motorcycle.  Martin stated that he had only limited cell phone coverage, and was unsuccessful maintaining a mobile phone connection and explaining their location to local 911 dispatchers.

“Being in the middle of nowhere limits your ability to effectively communicate your geographic location, even with cell phones,” said Brent Martin, a motorcycle enthusiast and member of a Los Angeles County Search and Rescue team.  “Everything looks the same out there and you’re miles from any streets signs.”

On September 11, 2009, expert outdoorsman Rick Stephens was airlifted from the Coast Mountain Range of Northern British Columbia after sending his GPS location coordinates using his SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker following a serious accident.

On September 11, 2009, Stephens and his hunting partner Trent Bossence were 7 days into a 12 day hunting trip, 55 miles from the closest town of Dease Lake and four miles from their base camp, when his hunting knife slipped and badly cut his leg just below the knee, severing a tendon.

June 30, 2009 – The SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ successfully notified emergency rescue authorities of an elderly man with chest pains on the remote Alaska Highway of British Columbia. With no phone service, Gary Sleeper used his SPOT Messenger to alert the Emergency Response Center that he was in an emergency situation and needed assistance.

In May, Mr. Sleeper was driving with his parents from Texas to Anchorage, Alaska, up the Alaska Highway. Knowing he would be out of cell phone coverage for long periods of time, he brought his along his SPOT Messenger.

About 100 miles outside Fort Nelson, Canada, his father told him that he was having chest pains and needed medical assistance. The individual used his SPOT Messenger to send out a 911 message. With an urgent need to get his father medical assistance at the nearest hospital, he started driving back to Fort Nelson.

April 15, 2009 -A Norwegian man was caught in blizzard conditions on March 31 during a 5 day solo ski sailing attempt across Hardangervidda, the largest high mountain plateau in Northern Europe.  Despite studying the advanced forecast and being prepared with the proper equipment, an unexpected late winter storm suddenly caused blinding, white-out conditions high winds and heavy snow snowfall.

Despite cellular service and navigational devices, SPOT was needed to initiate life flight for critically injured rider

March 3, 2009 – SPOT LLC today announced that the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger™ successfully notified emergency rescue authorities of a severely injured off-road motorcyclist in California’s Mojave Desert. The man’s condition became critical and despite cell phone service, friends at his side could not communicate their remote location to local authorities.

In January, David Cheney and friends had set off to enjoy a 100 mile motorcycle ride through the desert outside of Barstow, California. Thirty miles into the ride a fellow rider, and experienced desert racer, took a bad fall hitting his head. Some of the party rode on while others stayed behind to help.

On July 25, 2008 experienced outdoorsman Rejean Able, who was on a six week wilderness trek in Nunavik, located in the remote Ungava Peninsula of Northern Quebec, was rescued using his SPOT Satellite Messenger after a canoe accident left him stranded without supplies. As he was approaching a series of rapids, Mr. Able lost control of his canoe and capsized. Submerged with his feet caught under the seat of the canoe, he was able to free himself and swim to the embankment, but in the process lost his canoe and all off his supplies. He also lost his rifle which he had taken for protection against wolf packs known to be in the area.  

May 2008 - Technology triumphed over adversity in the great outdoors when an outdoor adventurer was rescued from a remote Scottish highland after using SPOT, the World’s first satellite messenger system, to alert emergency services.

Niels Vinther, was rescued after he sent a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) message to a SPOT emergency call centre from his location in Glen Etive, 15 miles south of Fort William in Scotland. The Danish man, who currently lives in Sunderland, had pressed the emergency button when he became incapacitated with acute abdominal pain whilst attempting a coast-to-coast trek across Scotland.

On June 30, 2008 during a summer backpacking trip in California’s Kings Canyon National Park, 52 year old George from Palo Alto, found himself suffering from acute abdominal pains on day ten of the two hundred and twenty three mile hike along the John Muir Wilderness Trail while setting up camp at 7:30 pm. Hours later, at approximately after 11:00 pm, George’s pain worsened which led him to end his trek early, and initiate an emergency alert with his SPOT Satellite Messenger.