Apple iPhone 14 Saves Two Stranded Women In Canada: Here's How Rescuers Were Able To Find Them

Apple Inc AAPL iPhone 14's Emergency SOS service via satellite feature helped save two stranded women in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

According to a report by the Times Colonist, the women were returning to Alberta, Canada, and found that a highway was closed because of an accident. 

Looking for an alternate route, they chose to take the Holmes Forest Service Road after using Google Maps.

The road was partially plowed, and the women made it to where the grader had stopped.

"Then it was basically a wall of snow, and when they tried to get through it, they got stuck," the Times Colonist quoted Dwight Yochim, a senior manager with BC Search and Rescue, saying. 

According to Yochim, the women were about 12 miles down the road, stuck in the snow without knowing where they were. They were out of cell service range as well. 

"There's no cell service there, but one of them happened to have the new Apple phone that has the SOS in it and activated the SOS, and to my knowledge, that's the first use of the SOS in British Columbia," Yochim added. 

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Following the women's use of the SOS feature, a rescue team used the GPS location to figure out that the women might have taken the logging road.

"They found them, pulled their vehicle out, and got them turned around and back on the way," Yochim said. "It's the kind of thing that it potentially may have saved their life."

He also said that without Emergency SOS, it may have taken the team over a week to find the women.

"Once the iPhone user activates the SOS, it sends a message to an Apple call center and contacts Northern 911, a call center in Canada. Northern 911 then activates a call to emergency services in British Columbia with a packet of information that includes the subject's GPS location," explained Yochim. 

Last November, Apple launched its Emergency SOS via satellite service on all iPhone 14 models in select countries. 

The Emergency SOS via satellite feature allows users to message emergency services even when cellular and WiFi coverage is unavailable. 

The feature also helps users reassure friends and family while traveling off the grid, as they can use the Find My app and share their location via satellite. 

Photo: Apple