INJURED HORSE RIDER ACTIVATES OCEAN SIGNAL RESCUEME PLB1 TO CALL FOR HELP

A horse rider from Yamhill County in Oregon, US, used her Ocean Signal rescueME PLB1 to call for help after she was badly injured after being thrown from her horse.

Jean Cramer told Oregon-based television station KATU that she was ‘very happy’ to successfully test her personal locator beacon after she broke her leg, as well as bones in her face, in the fall.

When her horse, Dusty, turned quickly, Jean was left lying at the edge of a wheat field and activated her Ocean Signal device while starting to crawl on her back towards her home about half a mile away.

Jean said: “I hit hard. I don’t know if I really remember the impact. I moved backwards on my butt, pushing with my right leg mainly and using my arms.

“What I saw was the front end of a white car and, you know, I’m sitting there and I started waving. I was very happy that it [the PLB] worked. It saved me a couple more hours of stress and, you know, in other circumstances it could save a person’s life.

“I chose the Ocean Signal PLB because it was the smallest and it had a 7-year battery which made it good value. I also like it because it looks stronger than some of the others. It wouldn’t be helpful if it didn’t survive the accident.”

Jean later found out that the white car she saw was a deputy who was dispatched by the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office after they got a call with Cramer’s coordinates from the U.S. Air Force.

Surgeons put a bar in Jean’s leg and she is walking on crutches and hoping to be back in the saddle soon.

A lifetime adventurer and retired pilot with EMT experience, Jean has carried rescue beacons while hiking and horseback riding for about 10 years, but this is the first time she has had to use one.

A video of the story as show on KATU can be viewed here.

Suitable for use on land or at sea, Ocean Signal’s rescueME PLB1 is the world’s smallest personal locator beacon and is specifically designed to be small and light enough to carry or attach to clothing for instant access to emergency services at the press of a button.

For more information on the new Ocean Signal rescueME PLB1 and range of products, please go to the website at www.oceansignal.com