Emergency beacon accidentally activated near Ypsilanti

YPSILANTI, Mich. – A search team has located an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon was accidentally activated Saturday morning near Ypsilanti, according to Civil Air Patrol.

The EPIRB was mistakenly turned on when it was disposed of incorrectly.

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An employee at the recycling center found the beacon and took it home because it was flashing and looked cool.

The search team located and deactivated the beacon at the employee's house near Ypsilanti.

"This proves the SAR system works and our teams can quickly respond. The coordinates sent by the beacon were within one street of the physical location where the beacon was found.," said Major Tony Gutierrez, the Civil Air Patrol Incident Commander for the mission.

If older emergency locator transmitters are not removed and discarded properly, the device could be accidentally activated.

The Civil Air Patrol urges all ELT/EPIRB owners to register their emergency locator beacons so rescue authorities can immediately attempt to contact the owner upon activation.