Ken and Quinn Golash were on a Sunday drive, January 7, in Prescott
National Forest in Arizona. They took a mountainous dirt road that began
getting rough and difficult to drive on. When it started to rain, the
couple found they couldn’t go back the way they came because dry
streambeds were filling with water and washing the road out.
It was getting dark and they failed to find an alternate road out. The
Golashes, who are in their sixties, decided to spend the night in their
truck and wait for the rain to stop. Being experienced hunters and
outdoorsmen, the couple pulled together enough food, clothing and
blankets for the night. They even captured rainwater as a safeguard. But
their most comforting assurance was having an ACR Electronics MicroFix™
406 MHz GPS Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) with them.
The rain continued throughout the night. The next morning, Ken walked up
to a higher elevation and unsuccessfully attempted to get cell phone
service. At 10 a.m., he and his wife made the decision to activate their
satellite detectable beacon. They knew it was a signaling device of last
resort, but they also knew that their son would soon be calling
authorities to report his parents missing. The Golashes feared that
without knowledge of their location, their son’s alert would initiate a
time-consuming, all out search over a wide area. By triggering the PLB,
Search and Rescue (SAR) teams would be able to pinpoint their exact
position in minutes.
A while later, the couple heard planes overhead. A helicopter from the
Arizona Department of Public Safety located them and dropped down a
two-way radio. The terrain was too narrow for the aircraft to land so
they were directed to a spot further up the mountain. The two were
airlifted and flown to family members close to their hometown of Peoria,
AZ. Three days later they were able to return to the area and drive the
truck out.
Ken Golash said receiving the MicroFix™ PLB from his wife last month was
the “best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten. Without it, I’m not sure
we would’ve gotten out at all.” He even plans to buy a second MicroFix™
for Quinn, and they plan to carry them whenever they travel, especially
when driving in the wide-open spaces of the west.
Ken also plans to carry the beacon when he hunts, which he often does
alone. “Even if you have no one with you, you’re never alone if you have
an emergency locator beacon,” he said.
Sgt. Rick Barnes, with Forest Patrol for the Yavapai County Sheriff’s
Office, said the Golashes made a good call in activating the PLB. “It
definitely made it easier to dial in where they were. Otherwise, we
would’ve been searching thousands of miles rather than a small finite
area. We like it when rescues are quick and easy like this one.” Barnes
also commended the Golashes for being prepared to spend an unexpected
night in the wilderness and for registering the beacon in advance with
current information that gave the rescuers vital information for the
search.
A PLB is a satellite-signaling device of last resort, for use when all
other means of self-rescue have been exhausted and where the situation
is deemed to be grave and imminent, and the loss of life, limb, eyesight
or valuable property will occur without assistance. All beacons must be
registered following purchase. Simply go online to
www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov.