These days MacGyver lives near Eugene, OR, in the guise of a stranded motorist. On March 5 the motorist wandered onto an unplowed road in Willamette National Forest, Oregon, and his pickup got stuck in deep snow. He’d not told anyone where he’d be and there was no cell phone service in the area. Thinking creatively, he attached his cell phone to a drone he happened to have with him, typed out a message giving his exact location, hit send, and launched the drone. Several hundred feet up, the phone connected with a cell tower and his message went out.
Rescuers from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, operating out of Eugene, OR, also rescued another motorist stranded near the quick-thinking drone owner, who stayed with his vehicle as is always advised for people who become lost.
Featured image provided by Lane County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, showing the stranded motorists’ vehicles next to the Box Canyon horse camp, which is located approximately 70 miles from Eugene on the eastern slope of the Cascades.