On April 19 at approximately 4:05 pm, Priority Watch team members heard a distress call from a
stranded motorist. The motorist was stuck on a forest service road somewhere near Grants,NM. The
motorist was outside of cellular phone coverage and was concerned about the dropping temperatures
and the prospect of spending the night stuck without proper camping gear. Andy, WRFG930/KI5VJJ
activated the priority traffic alert system while Rachel, WRQC436/K5ZN gathered more information from
the motorist. Rachel was able to contact a family member on behalf of the motorist. Meanwhile, Adam
WRZJ534 received the alert and tuned in to assist.
Adam offered to help the motorist with his
specialized recovery equipment. The team worked in concert on the air and via text messages in order
to determine the motorist’s location and the status of his communication equipment. The motorist
advised of his GPS coordinates and stated that he had plenty of battery power for his radio. Rachel,
WRQC436 then received a message that a family member was on the way to assist the motorist. The
priority watch team continued to monitor the channel, and after about 2 hours, confirmed that the
motorist was being assisted by family and was safe.
Thanks also to David WQVS960, David WRJF717 and several other members for assisting with this
incident behind the scenes.