An emergency signal balloon apparatus having a helium canister, an emergency signal balloon, a predetermined length of tether line, a valve assembly and a two part canister housing within which all of the components can be carried. The balloon is constructed of ultra-light, high-strength material, such as Mylar, and most of it would have an iridescent color, such as hunter's orange, with the upper portion having large wedged shaped sections of a highly reflective silver material. The balloon would further have large black letters, "CALL 911" which is the universal distress telephone number. Each of the letters of the message is bordered with highly reflective material so that when light strikes the material at night the message is clearly reflected and is highly visible.