A lost bushwalker has been rescued after police convinced her to download and use a GPS-locator app on her smartphone.
Police were called to the Mooray walking track at Heathcote, NSW, following reports of a lost bushwalker at about 6pm on Sunday.
Police contacted the 56-year-old woman and dispatchers convinced her to Emergency+ app on her smartphone so emergency services could get her exact GPS co-ordinates.
"Having the exact GPS co-ordinates from the Emergency+ app impacted our response time significantly," Inspector Mick Merrett of Miranda Local Area Command said in a statement.
"The app works in both urban and rural areas and we encourage everybody that owns a smart phone to download the app, particularly regular travellers and bushwalkers,"
After getting her location from the Emergency+ app, police were able to establish a concise search area in order to find the woman from Erskineville.
The woman was located safe and well.
Launched in December 2013, the 'Emergency +' app was developed by Australia's emergency services and Government to help people know the right number to call at the right time, as well as providing emergency dispatchers with the callers location if called for.
The software also includes SES and Police Assistance Line numbers as options, so non-emergency calls are made to the most appropriate number.