Stranded San Diego hiker rescued by new iPhone SOS feature

Apple’s SOS feature has saved 10 hikers in Southern California and a man stranded in the Alaskan wilderness less than a year after its launch

Juana Reyes and her friends were hiking in the Angeles National Forest outside of Los Angeles, California, when she lost her balance, fell, and broke her leg.

“All I can remember was yelling, ‘My foot,’ and trying to get up, but I couldn’t,” the hiker from Rancho Bernardo told NBC7 San Diego. “The pain was just so unbearable.”

Ms Reyes knew no matter how tough she was, there was no hiking out to seek help — she recalled seeing her leg contorted at an unnatural angle, and knew she was in trouble.

Fortunately, she had a friend with her who immediately tried to call for help. Unfortunately, the remote location left them all without cell service.

“How are we going to get out of this?” Ms Reyes said she asked herself. “That was the biggest thing on my mind.”

While Ms Reyes also had no service, she did have a lesser-known feature active on her iPhone; Apple's SOS system.

The SOS service can be used to contact emergency services, even if a user is outside of cell coverage or Wi-Fi connection.

“If you just try dialing 911 on an iPhone 14, just like you would normally, if you’re not in any cellular coverage, it will convert it to a satellite activation,” Mike Leum with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, told NBC7.

Once activated, the service asks the user questions about their condition and their location, and provides instructions on how to best hold the phone to find the nearest satellite.

Mr Leum said his team received the distress call from Ms Reyes thanks to the system.

“Our station notified us of an activation of an injured hiker up the trail near the waterfall,” he said.

He said it was the third call they've received thanks to the SOS service since its launch in November.

Mr Leum said the service had been "very helpful" for the rescuers.

Eventually Ms Reyes was hoisted out of the wildnerness and transported to a hospital for treatment.

“For me, it was my leg,” Ms Reyes said. “It could have been a different situation for somebody else, and it would be lifesaving.”

The service almost certainly saved the life of another hiker in December who became stuck in a remote part of the Alaskan wilderness while snowmobiling.

The Alaska Department of Public Safety said emergency services received his SOS alert — just a month after its launch on the iPhone 14 — and managed to locate and transport him to safety.

In May another group of 10 hikers were rescued in Southern California thanks to the feature. The hikers became stranded while hiking the "Last Chance" portion of Los Padres National Forest's Santa Paula Canyon.

“These hikers were able to contact Ventura County Sheriff’s Dispatch through the Apple Emergency SOS feature and provided valuable information such as a possible location and if immediate medical aid was needed,” local police said in a statement after the rescue.