Hiker lost for 24 hours ignored calls from SAR team

A hiker in Colorado, US, who was reported missing on 18 October after failing to return to where he was staying, repeatedly ignored phone calls from the Lake County Search and Rescue (LCSAR) team as they came from an unknown number.

According to a Facebook post published by LCSAR, the hiker had left at 09:00 and had not returned by 20:00. Five LCSAR members deployed at 22:00 to search high-probability areas on Mount Elbert but did not find them, before returning at 03:00 on 19 October. Four hours later, a three-man SAR team began the search and were informed they had returned.

According to LCSAR: “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.” Overall, more than 32 hours were dedicated to the search.

Unknown caller ID

Most notably, the hiker repeatedly ignored phone calls from LCSAR as they did not recognize the number.

LCSAR continued: “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!”

Comments about how uninvited contacts from external entities has conditioned users to reasonably reject unknown numbers notwithstanding, the wilderness of Colorado has meant the state has invested significantly in aerial firefighting, most recently awarding a firefighting contract to Neptune Aviation.