Lost Hiker Found Using Cell Phone GPS Coordinates

July 29, 2013

A Texas resident, missing for two days and three nights on Mt. Lemmon, north of Tucson, has been located safe and sound. 54-year-old Scott Bertrand was found Sunday morning, after sheriff's deputies were able to use GPS coordinates from a cell phone to locate him, according to Pima County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jesus Banuelos.

“At that point we launched our helicopter unit to those last GPS coordinates and after searching for a few minutes they were able to locate him and effectively rescue him,” Banuelos said.

Bertrand left his wife Thursday morning for a hike on the mountain and never returned. She called authorities to report him missing Thursday evening. Banuelos says searchers caught a break when some ranchers called in coordinates where they saw somebody walking.