Lori has it right - rescue first - moralize and judge later, much later, if at all.

Lori might have included the rescue of criminals. It is startling, at least for the first time, to see your erstwhile victim spread over the hood of a squad car, on his way directly to jail without passing "Go," and without collecting $200.

One thing to point out about the advent of new technologies in the outdoors and into SAR is that this a glass half full/empty situation. There have always been operations that in hindsight were unnecessary squanderings of resources and time. Back in the day, we often looked for and contacted people who were just fine, not needing assistance of any sort, but who had triggered a callout simply because they were overdue. It is a simple decision really - the negatives of a failure to respond to what actually was a serious situation are truly horrendous. If you respond to a non emergency, at worst you have a good training opportunity and perhaps a nice walk in the woods.

Essentially the cell phone and PLB/SEND technology allow for better communication. That has to be good. What is needed is better and more universal training and education of those going outdoors. This is something that a lot of SAR groups emphasize, along with field operations.