Alaska State Troopers say the Rescue Coordination Center housed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage was able to find and pick up two men Tuesday who accidentally sent an SOS signal from Red Salmon Lake in Southcentral Alaska. A troopers helicopter had previously attempted to respond to the signal but was turned back due to rough weather.
Troopers said Theodore Miller, 50, and his son Kyle Miller, 21, both of Wasilla, told rescuers they didn't know how an SOS signal had been sent Monday afternoon and told troopers they'd been packing up camp to start their hike out for the last "couple of days."
The RCC made contact with the duo at 12:12 p.m. Tuesday, troopers said.
The Millers were taken by the rescuers to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, but neither of them had any "medical conditions or needs," troopers said.
In the original troopers dispatch posted Tuesday morning, troopers said they were notified of an SOS sent by a SPOT personal locator beacon at Red Salmon Lake, near the confluence of the Hayes and Skwentna rivers and not far from the Iditarod National Historic Trail, at 1:35 p.m. Monday. Troopers helicopter Helo 3 attempted to respond to the location but turned back because of weather, troopers wrote.
Weather still wasn't suitable Tuesday morning for Helo 3 to fly, troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said.
A March 2013 troopers helicopter rescue attempt in bad weather near Talkeetna ended in a crash that killed both the pilot and the trooper aboard the helicopter, Helo 1, and the snowmachiner they'd rescued. That incident prompted scrutiny of flight safety protocols within the agency.