It seems a simple app helped police rescue some missing hikers in a provincial park located 200 km south of Timmins.
Members of the Nipissing West Detachment and Emergency Response Team (ERT) of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to three missing hikers on a trail that left from Halfway Lake Provincial Park.
The OPP say with the assistance of "what3words" app, the location of the three missing people was provided to police, who advised the hikers to remain at their location.
ERT members were able to locate and assist the missing hikers back to the campgrounds without any medical concerns.
The OPP reminds the public that the "what3words" App is free to download on both Android and Apple devices. The app labels every three squared metres with a unique three-word location string that can be converted into latitude and longitude coordinates for entry into the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, which is used at the OPP Provincial Communication Centre (PCC).
Even if the caller does not have the app downloaded on their mobile device, the PCC communicator can send a link to the caller's cell phone that will enable the caller (with data access and connectivity), to find their what3words location.
The OPP say the tracking app is available in 43 languages but shares the location in English.
