Correction: An earlier version of this story stated it was a CHP dispatcher who used Facebook to help find the injured hiker. CHP Officer James Andrews clarified that it was a Solano County sheriff's and fire dispatcher who found the profile.
Thanks to Facebook, a Solano County sheriff's and fire dispatcher helped locate an injured hiker was able to help rescue crews locate an injured hiker who had fallen from a cliff in Solano County while on a hike with his 11-year-old son Sunday afternoon.
After the son had called 911 about the accident, a Solano County sheriff's and fire dispatcher used Facebook to help crews find the right trail that the pair were on, according to a news release by CHP Officer James Andrews.
At 3:10 p.m. CHP air units were asked to help Vacaville Fire Protection District with a search for a man who had fallen from a cliff and was stuck in a tree.
A CHP airplane received coordinates of the area of the accident from dispatch based on the 911 call. However, the coordinates did not show the exact location of where the father and son were hiking said Andrews.
The Solano County sheriff's and fire dispatcher searched Facebook using the father and son's names and found a profile post where the father had identified the trail he and his son were hiking on Sunday.
With that information, Andrews said the dispatcher was able to relay the new location to rescue teams and the father and son were properly located.
The son was hoisted up and placed at a nearby command post and the father was hoisted then transported to a nearby trauma center with possible life threatening injuries.
