34-year-old Ian Snyder, who made international headlines after surviving a 1,000-foot fall off the Ko‘olau Mountains, chose to share his experience in a new public service announcement.
Emergency responders were able to home in on the last known location of Snyder’s cell phone and ultimately found him at the base of a waterfall, where for three days, he’d been in and out of consciousness.
In the television and radio public service announcement (PSA) he taped at the request of the DLNR and partners, the Honolulu Fire and Emergency Services Departments, Snyder details the lessons all hikers should take to heart. Those lessons include the following:
- Only hike alone on managed trails
- Tell someone your plans.
- Consider the risks to first responders.
- Never enter closed areas.
At the conclusion of his on-camera remarks he says, “Consider the risks first responders take. I’m alive because of them. Don’t make the mistakes I did. You may not live to share your lessons.”
The day he taped the PSA was the first day Snyder had been back out on a trail. In a press release Snyder said, “I knew I’d be out hiking again. I just knew there were things that I would need to get better at, like telling people my plans.”
DLNR is distributing Ian’s PSA to Hawai‘i television and radio stations via the Hawai‘i Association of Broadcasters Public Education Program.
Photo credit: DLNR