Juana Reyes was trekking through a remote section of the Angelos National Forest with some friends recently when the ground unexpectedly gave way beneath her causing her to fall and severely injure her ankle. To make it out of the forest, she was going to need help.
They tried calling for help, but couldn’t get service on their cell phones. Fortunately, Reyes was able to make contact with emergency services using her iPhone 14's "Emergency SOS via satellite" feature. The SOS feature allows owners of the newest iPhone models to reach emergency services when they’re outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage, provided they are in open terrain and have a direct view of the sky.
Thanks to the SOS signal, search and rescue first responder Mike Leum was able to pinpoint Reyes’ location and assist her. A Los Angeles County Fire Department Air Operations helicopter was brought in and airlifted Reyes out of the dense forest. She’s reportedly recovering at home and expected to be okay.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says this was the third time this year that they’ve been able to make a rescue after receiving an SOS via satellite notification from an iPhone user.
Source: ABC 7