Satellite SOS Signal Picked Up in Houston Leads to Rescue of Ailing Mountain Man in Scotland

A Scottish recluse living off-the-grid who became "unwell" in an isolated wooded area was rescued by helicopter after his distress signal, missed by local authorities, was picked up in Houston.The man in his 70s, known as to locals as "The Hermit of Loch Treig," had been living in a remote, electricity-free cabin in the Highlands for more than 25 years, the Daily Beast reported.Every week, the man had activated a high-tech personal locator beacon to let friends and family know he was all right, the news site said. But last weekend, feeling weak and dizzy, he was prompted him to do something he'd never done before: To turn on the device's SOS signal to call for help.The beacon somehow missed authorities in the United Kingdom - but Sunday evening, 9,000 miles away, Houston's International Emergency Response Coordination Center noticed the signal.The center, which monitors the airwaves for such calls, alerted U.K. officials. Ultimately, with forest cover too thick for a helicopter to land, members of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team were called in to hike in and transport the man to a site where he could be put on a stretcher to be airlifted to a hospital.  Continue reading...