On Search and Rescue and Mobile Phones

It seems there have been a number of search and rescue stories lately. Many of you have probably heard of the sorrowful story of James Kim and his family. Now there’s another search and rescue operation in Oregon in which three climbers have become lost in the mountains of Oregon.

In both cases, cell phone signals have been used to focus search areas. I’m rather curious to know how they’re making use of this cell phone technology. Would it be possible to move one of those emergency portable mobile phone cell sites into the area to strengthen phone signals? Furthermore, if this can be done to acquire a phone signal, wouldn’t it be a good idea to constantly text message the phone in regular intervals to attempt to acquire it’s location while it has a signal? I remember this is how James Kim’s family was found.
I’ve seen these portable cell sites used in disaster situations to bring wireless service into areas where cell site towers have become disabled. It’s likely they can’t get these huge trucks into the regions where the rescuers are working. Or maybe they just haven’t thought about doing this?

This could be a great reason to invest in a portable cell site that can be housed in say a helicopter. The helicopter can hover over areas looking for a cell phone signal and help direct search efforts into focused areas.