What3Words Helps Police Find Two Hikers
The mobile application What3Words gives every 3 metre square in the world a unique name made of 3 random words. It’s a very simple way to communicate precise locations.
Millions of people use What3Words to find, share, and navigate to precise locations. It’s used for planning meet-ups and road trips, giving accurate delivery locations, taxi pick-ups, and much more.
But when someone gets lost in the woods, like on October 3rd 2026, 911 police communicators used What3Words to direct first responders to people who need help.
“I took my 16-year-old son with me to go for a hike, as we often do,” said a man in an email to the Ottawa police recalling the incident from October 3. “We started encountering tallgrass, brush, and many trees that had fallen over the last few years,” he explained.
The numerous fallen trees and thick brush that caught around their legs and feet as they tried to move along the trail when it started to get dark.
“As the sun started to come down, I realized that making it back to the main trail within the next few hours wasn't realistic. I decided to call 911 for assistance.”
The officers located the man’s vehicle in the area of Leitrim Road and worked with the police communicator to get the What3Words location of the caller.
“I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they use the What3Words application, and I gave her our position information as soon as she asked for it,” the man said. “Since we weren't injured or in any other type of emergency situation, my son and I committed to staying where we were, and the police were dispatched to help us find our way out of where we were located.”
“We were next to each other, looking and listening for signals.”
After approximately 90 minutes, they started hearing voices and seeing lights.
“A little while later, we saw the police officers who came to our rescue. We could tell that they'd gone through a lot of mud and rough vegetation to reach us.”
The police officers positioned themselves in front and behind of the two men, and after a while, the group made it to Leitrim Road.
“The police officers made certain that my son and I followed them safely along the road, back to where they had parked all three of the [police cruisers] behind our own automobile.”
“My son and I thanked the police officers for their emergency assistance. In fact, it appears that the police showed up where we parked just a few minutes after I called 911.”
The man wrote about the officers’ professionalism and courteous 9-1-1 police communicator who responded to their call. “My family and I are very grateful to them.”
Before you head off hiking, and soon enough, snow shoeing, snowmobiling, or exploring the beautiful nature trails of Ottawa, download the What3Words app on your phone. You never know when it could lead you back to your group, or in a case like this one, lead police officers to your rescue.
