Fitness app saves life of pensioner lost on moors
AN “exceptionally lucky” pensioner was saved from freezing to death by a fitness app on his smartphone after falling during a moorland hike.
Stephen Wright, 70, fell down a hole while walking on Haworth Moors, West Yorks, and lay there for 18 hours with a broken arm until rescuers were able to track him down.
He had been able to make a phone call to tell his wife he was lost before the battery on his phone ran out on Monday afternoon.
Rescuers were only able to find him the following morning as they were able to establish his last known position registered via the app’s GPS.
His wife, Judith, 71, paid tribute to the emergency services.
She said: “I called 999 and they took it seriously straight away. He was nowhere near where he was supposed to be. I don’t yet know exactly where he was found, but I heard it was somewhere towards Trawden. It was the coastguard helicopter that found him.
“He’s had a heart attack before so he takes heart medicine and his medication was overdue.
“I want to say thank you to everyone involved in finding my husband.”
Mrs Wright, who lives in Heaton, near Bradford, with her husband and their 38-year-old son, said Stephen was a keen walker who went out most days.
After he was found Mr Wright was taken to hospital, but was fit enough to return home the same day.
Pc Sam Hollings wrote on Twitter that Mr Wright had been exceptionally lucky as the location services on his phone were mostly switched off, except for one app.
He said: “Fortunately he had a fitness app running when his phone ran out of battery. It was digital media investigation at its best.”