A hiker who was lost on a mountain in Colorado mistakenly impeded a rescue mission, NBC News reports.
The hiker, whose identity has not been made public, ignored repeated calls from rescuers — and later explained that they did not pick up the phone as the number was unknown to them, per authorities.
They were reported missing after failing to return from an expedition on October 18 on Mount Elbert, the highest peak in the state of Colorado, Lake County Search and Rescue said.
The individual was reported late at around 8PM after starting the hike at 9AM on the same day.
The continued that while search crews traversed the area the following day, they couldn't locate the individual, who had apparently walked off the trail, and spent the night trying to find it again.
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.
"One notable take-away is that the subject ignored repeated phone calls from us because they didn’t recognize the number. 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.
