A hiker who found themselves lost on a Colorado mountain mistakenly impeded their own rescue mission because they didn't answer calls from an "unknown number".
As reported by NBC News, the hiker - whose identity has not been made public - ignored repeated calls from rescuers after going missing for 24 hours. The misguided explorer later explained that they did not pick up the phone as the number was unknown to them, per authorities.
The hiker in question was reported missing after failing to return from an expedition on October 18, 2021. They had been attempting to scale Mount Elbert, the highest peak in the state of Colorado, Lake County Search and Rescue said.
The individual was reported late at around 8:00PM after starting the hike at 9:00AM on the same day.
Lake County Search and Rescue stated that while search crews traversed the area the following day, they couldn't locate the individual, who had apparently wandered from the trail and spent the evening attempting to find it again.
The hiker refused to answer a call from an unknown number. Credit: Jason Jones Travel Photography / Getty
After around 24 hours of being lost, they eventually found the trail, and made it to their car — all without knowing that a search team had been looking for them.
In a statement posted to Facebook, Lake County Search and Rescue said: "Multiple attempts to contact the subject via their cell phone were unsuccessful."
"The subject stated they’d lost the trail around nightfall and spent the night searching for the trail, and once on the trail, bounced around onto different trails trying to locate the proper trailhead, finally reaching their car the next morning, approximately 24 hours after they’d started their hike. They had no idea that SAR was out looking for them," the statement continued.
Credit: Calvin Chan Wai Meng / Getty
"One notable take-away is that the subject ignored repeated phone calls from us because they didn’t recognize the number," the statement added, before stressing the importance of answering a call if others ever found themselves in a similar situation. "If you’re overdue according to your itinerary, and you start getting repeated calls from an unknown number, please answer the phone; it may be a SAR team trying to confirm you’re safe!
"Finally, to Mount Elbert hikers, please remember that the trail is obscured by snow above treeline, and will be in that condition now through probably late June. Please don’t count on following your ascent tracks to descend the mountain, as wind will often cover your tracks."
After the hiker in question became the subject of criticism, Lake County Search and Rescue came to their defense, explaining that "common sense in hindsight is not obvious to a subject in the moment when they are lost and panicking."
"Please remember that what seems like common sense in hindsight is not obvious to a subject in the moment when they are lost and panicking. In Colorado, most folks who spend time outdoors have a good understanding of the SAR infrastructure that is there to help them, but this is not the case nationwide. Please keep your comments respectful," they wrote.
In all honesty, I've never related more to an individual more in my life.
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