BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – TWO Windsor University students - who embarked on a hiking expedition on Saturday morning (Aug. 16) in the mountains - managed to get themselves lost but were eventually rescued thanks to the expertise of members of the Police and Defence Forces and the use of Google Maps.
The Commander for District B – Superintendent Cromwell Henry – informed SKNVibes that at about 5:30p.m. on that day, a report was placed on the emergency line at Police Headquarters that two individuals were lost in the Saddlers Mountain area.
He explained that the two men’s expedition began sometime after 11:00 am when they parked their vehicle at the bottom of the hill at Beaumont Estate and headed for the hills.
More than five hours into the hike – Henry further explained – the men realised that there was still a considerable distance to be travelled before reaching to the peak of the mountain and a decision was made to return to their starting point.
However, when they thought that they were making their way back down the mountain, they were actually making their way into a ghaut in the mountain. And about 30 feet from the bottom of the ghaut, they realised they had lost their sense of direction.
The Superintendent said the men called their friend who filed a report via “911” and that information was passed on to the officers at the Dieppe Bay Police Station.
He said a team – consisting of members of that police station, soldiers who were camping at the St. Pauls Primary School and two residents of the Dieppe Bay and Parsons areas, who were familiar with the mountainous terrain – was assembled, headed by SGT Phipps.
Contact was made with the students via their smartphone and – as Henry explained – they were able to send their GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates via that medium. And with the use of Google Maps, the officers were able to determine their precise location.
The search began just after 6:00 p.m. and the men were located some seven hours later but owing to thick vegetation, darkness and a low fog cover, a decision was made to wait there until dawn. And at about 8:00 a.m. yesterday (Aug. 17), both were safely returned to civilisation.
The emergency medical team of the St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services was on hand to provide treatment - if necessary - but the students were in good health except for a few minor bruises.
The Superintendent advised that anyone wishing to engage in such activities should “use a locally-recognised tour guide or at least inform the nearest police station or the St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services Department of your intentions”.
