Technical SAR Training / NPS

Carrying a device capable of calling for emergency search and rescue (SAR) while in the backcountry can be a great source of comfort for adventurers and their families back home. The potential financial costs for a rescue, however, may cause angst about actually using the devices. This despite the fact that in the US, it's exceedingly rare for someone to be charged for calling for a rescue. 

Though it can happen, technically. 

Some states do have laws on the books that make it legal to bill adventurers for rescues. New Hampshire is not shy about presenting preople with an invoice after a rescue. According to the Appalachian Mountain Club, the state rescues about 189 people per year and will send bills to 17 of them. For example, back in 2015, the state won a legal battle when the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled the state was in the right when it charged a Michigan man $9,100 for rescuing him after he dislocated his artifical hip on a backpacking trip in 2012. The state argued the man was negligent for undertaking a multi-day trip with an artificial hip, and presented him with the bill, which he fought up until he lost the case in the state's highest court. 

According to the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, California, Idaho, Maine, Oregon, and Utah all reserve the right, like New Hampshire, to charge people who call for SAR help. The states very rarely do so, however, unless there was obvious negligence or reckless behavior. For the most part, rescues in national parks won't be billed, but it's always worth double checking before venturing out onto public lands about the specific possibilites on lands managed by different agencies. 

But stories of expensive rescue bills like the Michigan man's above are enough to cause some people to delay calling for SAR even when they really need it. 

The Colorado Search and Rescue Association keeps a list of instances in which people in trouble in the backcountry avoided calling for rescue because they were worried about being presented with an expensive bill. The stories are harrowing. A climber with a broken pelvis who tried to climb out of a difficult situation. A lost hiker who courted exposure during a freezing night. A man who needed an airlift rescue but who was "borderline hysterical" when a rescue helicopter appeared because he assumed a high cost he couldn't pay for. A woman who put her life in danger trying to find her lost husband rather than call for SAR help because she feared the rescue bills.

This sort of anxiety is something the SAR community wants to prevent and considers very unhelpful for their mission. 

“To eliminate the fear of being unable to pay for having one’s life saved, SAR services should be rendered to persons in danger or distress without subsequent cost-recovery from the person(s) assisted unless prior arrangements have been made," says the National Association for Search and Rescue. 

A new SOS service is positioning itself as a cost-effective antidote to that kind of unhelpful worry. 

It's called Overwatch X Rescue and it's unique in the emergency SOS market. It's not a physical device like a personal locator beacon or a satellite messenging device, but rather an emergency SAR coordination service that also acts as something like insurance (though the company points out the service is not technically insurance) that will cover the cost of rescue, should a cost arise. The service works with many devices that have a satellite-based ability to make an emergency SOS request: iPhone 14 and later, SPOT X, Garmin inReach devices, and Zoleo Global Satellite Communicators all work with the service.

The founder told the Traveler in an email that he was inspired to launch the service after a friend was injured while hiking, required ground transport to a hospital for treatment, and was stuck with a significant bill he had to pay for out of pocket.

If you find yourself in a life-or-death emergency, you call for SOS on your device, and Overwatch X Rescue handles the rest. The company maintains call centers and works directly with SAR teams to coordinate rescue efforts from the moment someone calls for help until their situation is resolved. After, should a state decide to bill you for the service, you'll be reimbursed by Overwatch X Rescue, with no financial limit and no limits to altitude or activity, and will coordinate rescue anywhere on the globe. The service is $79 annually. 

It's not the only option, however. Garmin sells SAR insurance for as little as $39.95 per year, or as much as $1,000, if you buy insurance that covers you with no altitude limit. Some states, like Colorado and Utah, sell inexpensive SAR cards that provide insurance should you require backcountry rescue, and that help fund the often shoestring SAR operations in rural areas. 

The costs for these services are reasonable for peace of mind alone. It's not always obvious what defines being reckless or negligent while on an adventure, and fearing the cost of rescue isn't worth putting off potentialy life-saving services. 

"The mission of SAR organizations is to save lives," says the National Association for Search and Rescue. "Not just the lives of those who can afford to pay the bill.”