Two hikers in Milton are safe thanks to the what3words app.
On the evening of Saturday, July 3rd, the Halton Regional Police Service says it received a call from two lost hikers at Kelso Conservation Area in Milton. The HRPS used the what3words app and was able to pinpoint the location of the missing hikers and direct officers to quickly return them to safety.
The Halton Police first partnered with what3words in the fall of last year. The service provides an easy and quick way to communicate a location. It breaks the world down to three-metre squares and assigns three unique words to each square. For example, the what3words address of the HRPS Headquarters’ front entrance is Erupt.Venomous.Linear.
In a separate incident on July 3rd, another group of hikers contacted police when they became lost in the area of Hilton Falls Conservation Area. Due to poor cellphone signal, they were not able to download the what3words app to aid in determining their location. The group was eventually located safely, with the assistance of the K9 Unit.
As residents continue to use hiking trails, parks, and conservation areas, the HRPS is recommending you to download the what3words app.
The app is available for free on iOS and Android or via the online map at what3words.com. It’s also available in more than 40 languages. Once downloaded, the app is able to work offline, making it ideal for use in rural areas of Halton that may have poor or unreliable data signal.
For more information about how the program works, a video can be found here.
