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Map app helps OPP rescue injured snowmobiler on Lake Couchiching

Staff employed the What3words app to locate the injured snowmobiler
20180309 snowmobile on lake nipissing turl
A snowmobiler speeds across the ice on Lake Nipissing. Photo by Jeff Turl.

NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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Members of the Orillia detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) recently utilized the What3words app, a geocode mapping system, to help locate and rescue an injured snowmobiler.

On Jan. 8, 2021, shortly before 5 p.m., officers responded to an emergency call for an injured snowmobiler who had been involved in a collision on Lake Couchiching. The driver was unable to say exactly where he was and responding emergency personnel were slowed in their efforts to locate the injured male. This is where technology comes into play. 

Staff at the OPP Provincial Communications Centre (PCC) were able to employ What3words by texting a link to the app to the driver, who then used it to pinpoint his location which was encoded by the app into a unique set of three words. Those three words were then communicated back to the PCC, from which staff were then able to direct emergency personnel to the collision site. The driver was subsequently located and transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The use of What3Words is an example of how the OPP is modernizing its police service and utilizing technology to enhance public safety and support successful outcomes by decreasing response times to high priority calls in which the caller does not know their exact location.  

The Orillia OPP is committed to serving our province, including the Townships of Oro-Medonte, Ramara and Severn and the City of Orillia, by protecting its citizens, upholding the law and preserving public safety. If you have any information about crime in our community please contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or report minor occurrences online by visiting www.opp.ca/reporting.

 You can also call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit your information online at www.crimestopperssdm.com if you have any information on this crime or any other crime.

Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to call display and you will remain anonymous. Being anonymous, you will not testify in court and your information may lead to a cash reward of up to $2,000.00.

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