Another winter, another season of long nights in sometimes dangerous backcountry terrain for North Shore Rescue volunteers looking for lost souls.
They are preparing to be out in force again this weekend, searching for Tom Billings, the British tourist not seen since late November.
Part of what makes this search unique is the use of high-definition aerial footage and social media crowdsourcing to help to garner clues after the trail had, literally and figuratively, gone quite cold.
This trend toward technology in search and rescue is positive because it ups the chances of finding a lost hiker, and doing it in less time. We endorse North Shore Rescue team leader Tim Jones' call for cameras to be posted at the entrances of some key backcountry trails like Lynn Headwaters and Lynn Canyon.
Sometimes, with little more than second-hand, fragmented bits of conflicting information, volunteer rescuers drop what they're doing and head out into the mountains.
They sacrifice and accept a certain amount of personal risk for the uncertain reward of finding their lost subject. As long as that's the arrangement, we say give them the tools to get it done safely.
Let's be clear. We aren't talking about cameras around every tree, or a voyeuristic tool to invade the privacy of people seeking solitude. But one or two cameras in key, public locations could go a long way to quickly let rescuers know if they're on the right track.
That can mean the difference between life and death when time is of the essence.
