Yep, when I was in Kodiak, I got to know several of the helicopter pilots in the Coast Guard there. They told me some real horror stories. One such:
This was when PLBs first came out. An ELT (actually a PLB) activated on the east side of Kodiak. Weather was ugly, even for the helicopter crews.
So, they saddled up the alert HH-3 and headed down the east side. Weather was very bad, so they got off shore a ways, very low. Got down to where they could DF the beacon, and flew in to shore.
Turns out some bear hunters from Anchorage had turned on that beacon. Their air taxi operator couldn't fly, and it was obvious why. So, they turned on the PLB. The helicopter pilot asked them if they were okay medically, and had a sufficient supply of food, etc. They were in no danger, but they said the reason they turned on the PLB was that they needed to get to work the next day......seriously.
The Helo commander told them that he'd take them to Kodiak, BUT, since helicopters are prohibited from carrying hunters or their gear to or from the field, this crew would have to leave all their gear and the bear hide and skull there in camp. The hunters jumped on the helicopter and left their camp, their firearms and a bear hide and skull there.
When they got to town, the helo pilot called me and told me where to find the stuff, and suggested I seize it, since it was abandoned. The US Attorney said we'd never make a case, since all the hunters had to do was plead "Survival".
So, the air taxi outfit went down there when the weather lifted, and, predictably, the camp had been ransacked by bears, and the hide had been damaged as well. They couldn't find the skull.
We tried to figure out some way to punish these guys for risking a Coast Guard crew in really nasty weather, when in fact there was no emergency at all.
This kind of nonsense is happening more and more with the advent of the In Reach and SPOT devices, not so much with aviators, but with hikers, bikers, etc.
They're out there, folks....don't be that guy, our SAR folks have a hard enough job to do.
And, for fun, I had my survival vest apart so I took a picture of contents. Understand that the content is very personal. Your mileage may vary, but here's a start:
MTV