Texted photo’s GPS data helps Crook County searchers find pair

High-tech solutions don’t always save the day when you get lost in the woods, but for one father and son camping in the Ochocos, it was a texted photo – and the GPS information it contained – that helped lead Crook County searchers to the pair, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.

Deputies took a report around 11:20 p.m. Wednesday of a lost father and son in the Duncan Butte area southeast of the Old Ochoco Ranger Station, said Michael Ryan, the sheriff’s office emergency manager.

They were told Joseph Kimmel, 31, of Albany, Ore., had gone into the area with his 10-year-old son for a few days of camping and target shooting, Ryan said.

An investigation found that they had left the camp early Wednesday evening, intending to walk down a trail to do some target shooting, but became lost.

However, Ryan said Kimmel was able to text a photo of their location to a friend, who was able to decode the metadata and retrieve the GPS coordinates, which were forwarded to the sheriff’s office, Ryan said.

A sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team and emergency managers were dispatched to the area, and deputies found the pair’s car within two hours of the initial report.

SAR volunteers joined the deputies and began a search, finding the father and son around 3 a.m., within a mile of their car, Ryan said.

Kimmel and his son were escorted back to their camp and, after being interviewed, “released to continue their camping experience,” Ryan said in a news release.