Incident 53/2012

At 15.54hrs this warm and humid afternoon, with good visibility at all levels, GMP attempted to contact our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, (Leaving a return contact message) very shortly afterwards contacting our Deputy Team Leader Geoff Seddon.

GMP required the teams assistance with a solo female hill walker on Rivington Moor who had become ‘distressed in her present location,’ which was on boggy pathless moorland.

The walker had a GPS and was seemingly aware of local land marks and place names, giving her position as near to Noon Hill, but having lost the path and reporting she was now surrounded by boggy moorland.

In consultation with GMP, our Deputy Team Leader Geoff Seddon informed GMP the location was actually in Lancashire, and so therefore the incident was passed to Lancashire Constabulary’s control and co-ordination.

Geoff Seddon was able to make immediate mobile phone contact with the hill walker, offering reassurance, and advice regards her location.

After consulting with Lancashire Constabulary and then our Team Leader, it was decided that Geoff would drive his 4WD vehicle along Georges Lane and onto the moorland track of Belmont road, skirting the moorland edge below Noon Hill, whilst Garry would drive up to the high point of the Rivington to Belmont road, with each trying to locate the walker and guide her to a path.

At 16.15hrs a pager call out message was made, for one of our Land Rovers to access the moorland tracks from the Rivington to Belmont road side.

Shortly after this, in further mobile phone contact with this female walker, Geoff established that she was now ok with her situation, and heading down off the moor towards the Belmont Road hill track and his location.

A pager stand down message was sent at 16.28hrs, with Geoff meeting up with the walker at circa 16.35hrs, who was now heading back to her car parked at the high moorland car park at Hordern Stoops.

At around this same time a Police Air Support Unit helicopter from the North West Air Operations Group (Police) which had been tasked to this incident by Lancashire Constabulary, arrived overhead and was stood down ‘on scene.’

Aside from Police resources, our Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader, nine other Bolton MRT team members were stood down responding to this call.