Missing hunters in Colorado

[TreeDux]

This is exactly what I've been doing. Every time someone goes missing I tell my wife, I wish I didn't have to work so I can go look for them.

When Grant Gardener was missing in wyoming last month I checked for updates everyday and was convinced I coykd find him if I had the financial ability to not work and go.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

The only SAR I ever took part in made me consider doing that for a living. The utter incompetency of the agencies/bureaucracy that were involved was hugely disappointing. Us young woods guys were giving it everything we had (almost to our own detriment ) while a handful of dudes with uniforms and radios hung out around a table under a canopy.The end result was not what we hoped for and I quickly realized that they don’t all have a happy ending. To be helpful is certainly within me. To deal mentally with the inevitable possibilities may not be.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

If u share your location w someone on a I phone if u have no service could they still see y location since it’s a gps essentiallly?

GPS doesn't send/receive anything elsewhere, all these phones and things like OnX need data for that. You can send coordinates or text related things through satellites now but that would be considered having service (satellite service) so I don't think that's what you're asking, but yes if you can get a text message through with satellite with coordinates they'll obviously see what you sent.

 

[Serrano]

If you have no service then no, as far as I know GPS service doesn't send your location data anywhere other than the comms between your device and the sat to determine your location.

All GPS is receive only. Your GPS receiver triangulates your position using transmissions from multiple satellites.

 

[Serrano]

T-mobile with satlink is $10/month for text messages even if you don't have T-mobile. I have been happy with it this year. You can also use it to share your location.

 

[feanor]

T-mobile with satlink is $10/month for text messages even if you don't have T-mobile. I have been happy with it this year. You can also use it to share your location.

Can you expand on these details? Did you mean starlink?

 

[MuleDeerMike]

How did you search that?

Gaia GPS app has a cell coverage layer.

 

[fmyth]

Also remember that the tracking feature on inReachs cost extra for basic plans. It’s 10 cents a ping.

I don’t ever use the tracking so I turn mine off and power it on when I need to use it. I send my wife a couple presets a day. Only time I left it on was when I was with a buddy that his wife was 8 months pregnant so we needed contact if she went into labor.

I tell my wife that if I don’t come back and you never find me, well, that’s not horrible. Caskets and funerals are a waste of money anyways.

If you go missing and are not found it could take your wife up to 7 years and lots of $ in legal fees to have you legally declared dead before she can collect your life insurance, SS benefits etc. In my opinion the 10 cents a ping I spend having my Inreach on while hunting is well worth it. I'll hunt at least 14 days this year. At at 6 pings an hour and 12 hours of hunting per day that's $7.20 a day. Every 20 min would be $3.60 a day. Seems like a reasonable price to pay to avoid having 100 volunteers looking for me for a week and my wife and children waiting 7 years to have closure, collect my insurance, etc.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Also remember that the tracking feature on inReachs cost extra for basic plans. It’s 10 cents a ping.

I don’t ever use the tracking so I turn mine off and power it on when I need to use it. I send my wife a couple presets a day. Only time I left it on was when I was with a buddy that his wife was 8 months pregnant so we needed contact if she went into labor.

I tell my wife that if I don’t come back and you never find me, well, that’s not horrible. Caskets and funerals are a waste of money anyways.

That may be why there in this situation.
We all do that and should probably revaluate.

 

[Thomas11]

GPS doesn't send/receive anything elsewhere, all these phones and things like OnX need data for that. You can send coordinates or text related things through satellites now but that would be considered having service (satellite service) so I don't think that's what you're asking, but yes if you can get a text message through with satellite with coordinates they'll obviously see what you sent.

I guess to be exact mayb I’m wording it wrong but say u share your location w your wife but u don’t have service could she still see that location?

 

[HairyScandinavian]

I guess to be exact mayb I’m wording it wrong but say u share your location w your wife but u don’t have service could she still see that location?

How can you share it if you don't have service though? It won't go through, so no.

If you have a starlink or apparently iphone you can send plain text messages with satellite and it goes through, then yes whatever you send her she will receive.

 

[Serrano]

Can you expand on these details? Did you mean starlink?

yes starlink, sorry.

T-Mobile Starlink

 

[fmyth]

That may be why there in this situation.
We all do that and should probably revaluate.

With Inreach you control the ping interval. With my $11.95 a month plan it's 10 cents a ping and I choose the interval. Once every 10 min or once an hour its my choice. Once an hour will cost me $1.20 a day if I hunt 12 hours. If these guys had an Inreach device on and set to update their location once an hour they might have been found already.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

GPS satellites tell your device what time it was when the signal left the GPS satellite. they do not receive anything from your device, and they do not tell you where you are, or know that you exist. your device does all of the math to turn the time signals from multiple satellites into a precise location on earth.

 

[tall]

With Inreach you control the ping interval. With my $11.95 a month plan it's 10 cents a ping and I choose the interval. Once every 10 min or once an hour its my choice. Once an hour will cost me $1.20 a day if I hunt 12 hours. If these guys had an Inreach device on and set to update their location once an hour they might have been found already.

Good point. Then again, I always leave my InReach off until needed to conserve battery life. I’m rethinking that strategy now.

 

[Serrano]

Can you expand on these details? Did you mean starlink?

Anywhere you don't have cell service it connects to Starlink. It usually tells you to point at the satellite (point left or right). When you send a message, it is usually quick. Once in a while a message gets status "Failed to Send". I usually don't bother to point and the message goes out. It works really well.

 

[CorbLand]

Someone correct me but isn’t the inReach in the pickup?

 

[fmyth]

yes starlink, sorry.

T-Mobile Starlink

I have Starlink internet in camp and Starlink text msg capability with my cell phone. I still carry my Inreach and have it set to send my location every 10 min to a webpage I've shared with my wife and kids. If I mess up and get myself lost and never recovered I don't want them to have to spend the next 7 years in court to get me declared dead so they can move on.

 

[Serrano]

How can you share it if you don't have service though? It won't go through, so no.

If you have a starlink or apparently iphone you can send plain text messages with satellite and it goes through, then yes whatever you send her she will receive.

It works with most newer phones (5 years), doesn't have to be iPhone.

 

[fmyth]

Good point. Then again, I always leave my InReach off until needed to conserve battery life. I’m rethinking that strategy now.

Mine will go 5-7 days pinging every 10 min without needing a charge.

 

[Dan Carey]

I have 2 Garmin GPSmap 62stc. I mark the vehicle on both. Then put one on tracking and the other is turned off and in the pack for use if the other one fails. I've read way to much about others being lost while hunting.