At one point in the narration, the kidnap site is referred to as being 200 miles from Highway Patrol headquarters. When Dan and Dr. Simmons leave in the helicopter, Dan says that they'll be at the site in 10 minutes
When taking the young man out by copter, we see him with his head uncovered. A moment later his head is covered. The when the copter rises, the blanket is noticeably smaller.
Discussing the high-risk strategy of taking the helicopter near the shack in which the kidnappers are holed up, Dan points out that the kidnappers will be aiming their rifles at the copter and says "That's not a hard target to miss." (He had obviously intended to refer to it as not being a hard target to hit.)