Apple SOS feature helps Ojai search and rescue crew find 10 lost hikers
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office was able to locate 10 teenage campers that got lost during a hike in Ojai.
According to the sheriff's office, the campers — all between the ages of 16 and 18 — set off on their hike in the Santa Paula Canyon at about 3:30 p.m. After nearly five hours, the missing teenagers used Apple's Emergency SOS feature to relay their possible location to the office's dispatch service. In addition to the SOS message, guardians from the teenagers' camp told deputies at the trailhead that the overdue hikers were missing.
Members of the volunteer Upper Ojai Search and Rescue Team hiked about four miles and over two hours to locate the hikers in the "Last Chance" area of the canyon.
At about 11:15 p.m., the rescue team rendezvoused with the teens and provided them with food, water and lights before leading them out of the pitch-black trail. The volunteers said the hikers were unprepared for the hike. Luckily, none of the missing campers needed medical aid.
The teens were finally reunited with their guardians waiting at the trailhead at about 2:40 a.m., almost 12 hours since they embarked on their hike.
The Upper Ojai Search and Rescue Team consists of about 28 volunteers that spend an average of 4000 hours every year assisting in searches, rescues, training and public events.
