GPS Tracking Technology Speeds Rescue of Injured Hunter
30 Nov 2012This past Monday marked the start of the deer rifle hunting season in many parts of the country. In the state of Pennsylvania alone, nearly 750,000 hunters were estimated to trek the wilderness in search of game. Unfortunately, with so many hunters facing the elements, injuries – and worse — can occur, which leads us to a story of an injured elk hunter in Montana being rescued after the remarkable technology of GPS tracking.
John Chepulis is an elk hunter in Montana who knows his way around the Northwoods. However, the woods are vast and make it easy for a hunter to get lost if something were to happen. Unfortunately, this became a reality for Chepulis. But Chepulis was lucky because his wife urged him to bring along a GPS personal tracking device which proved useful when he became injured after getting bucked off his horse in the wilderness.
John Chepulis was hunting in the Northwoods near Shedhorn Mountain with friends Scott Wittman and John Simmons. Wittman and Chepulis were riding through the mountain by a nearby canyon when John’s horse smelled a grizzly bear track and got spooked. At the same time, an elk moved from the trees, causing John’s horse to flee. During the commotion, John Chepulis got bucked from his horse and landed on a rock slide.
At the same time, Simmons was looking on with binoculars as Chepulis and Wittman were supposed to chase elk to his location. The next thing he knew, Simmons saw the elk run from the bush and noticed a horse without its rider.
Without hesitating, Wittman suggested they turn on the GPS tracker in hopes they could get immediate help. After sending an SOS alert with the GPS device, Summit Air Ambulance was able to pick up the three men and get Chepulis to the Bozeman hospital. Without the GPS tracker, it would have taken them at least 4 hours to get to a hospital.
John Chepulis broke 10 ribs on his right side, one of which punctured a lung that later collapsed. A portion of his rib cage detached from the chest wall due to so many ribs in a row being broken. He also had pneumothorax, which is air in the chest cavity, and was fighting off pneumonia.
“If we had not reacted so quickly, it’s unlikely that John would have survived.” Said Sheriff Dave Schenk, who responded to the SOS.
The incident is a frightening one to Chepulis’ and his friends families, but it goes to show the important of modern technology like GPS tracking. GPS trackers do more than help people find their way; they help others find them in emergency situations. If it wasn’t for the tracker, there’s a possibility Chepulis would not have survived the unfortunate accident.
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