New app launches to help OPP find missing people in remote areas

By Mike Vlasveld

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is launching a new app, expected to make it easier for a missing person to be found, even if they're in a remote area without cell service.

“If you are ever in a position where you need to call for help and you don't know exactly where you are, the call takers at our dispatch centres are going to ask for some information, and if you have the What3Words app on your phone,” explains OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, “it will give use some key words that will allow us to pinpoint you, very specifically.”

The sergeant says it's great for people who plan to be in rural areas, out on the trails, in bush, or generally, in areas that don't have recognizable landmarks.

“[Use of the app make it] easier for our search and rescue teams, helicopter crews, to find your location, specifically, as opposed to searching a much bigger area that would otherwise be found through triangulation on our cell phones.”

Sgt. Schmidt says What3Words works without Internet or data. It will still provide the OPP communications centre with a location code, even when someone is stuck somewhere without any cellular reception.
 

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