At 18:28 this evening our colleagues at Bowland Pennine MRT were contacted by officers at Lancashire Constabulary with the report of two young walkers who had contacted police via mobile phone to report themselves lost in the Rivington area.
Police had in turn contacted Bowland Pennine MRT with a specific request to utilise “SARLOC”, a mobile phone positioning application available to Mountain Rescue teams.
With a SARLOC position obtained which put the pair of lost walkers squarely within Bolton MRT’s operational area, team leaders at Bowland Pennine MRT contacted Bolton MRT at 18:43 to handover the incident, and Deputy Team Leader Chris Greenhalgh obtained the relevant details.
Whilst team member Steve Fletcher made further attempts to contact the missing people via their mobile phones, Bolton MRT team member Mike Marsh made his way to their last known position in the area of Rivington Terraced Gardens.
At 19:16 mobile phone contact was made with the two walkers, a 17 year old female and 18 year old male, coincidentally at the same time that team member Mike had found them whilst searching on foot in the vicinity of Rivington Hall Barn.
The walkers were not in need of any medical attention and had become lost in the maze of dark paths around the terraced gardens as night fell.
With the darker nights now drawing in, Bolton MRT would like to stress the usefulness of carrying suitable lighting, by way of a head torch or similar, if out walking at night in an unfamiliar area. Carrying a map and compass, with knowledge of how to use them, is also recommended.
