If you get lost on the trail answer your phone!

[trecile]

Not exactly Camino related, but I was flabbergasted by this story of a hiker that was lost for 24 hours who ignored rescuers' calls because 'they didn't recognize the number'

Hiker missing for 24 hours ignored rescuers calls 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," officials said.

www.nbcnews.com

But it also begs the question - if calls could get through then why didn't they call for help?

 

[K_Lynn]

Sounds like the woman who helped a search party look for herself.
https://torontosun.com/2012/08/28/missing-woman-unwittingly-joins-search-party-for-herself
People are generally oblivious to their own stupidity. Common sense is obvious from the comfort of a sofa, but as soon as people get out of their homes they forget to think.

 

[Tincatinker]

Sat under a space-blanket, hunkered in a hollow partially sheltered by a tumbled dry-stone wall that had once been an Iron-age steading, waiting for the rest of the rescue team to reach us through the mist and rain, I asked the rather plump Brummie with the turned ankle and broken sandal strap what he thought he was doing on Dartmoor in this weather dressed as he was? His reply was "The woif (wife) told me I ought to get out more"...

 

[trecile]

"The woif (wife) told me I ought to get out more"...

Maybe she had an ulterior motive.

 

[inspectorwexford]

Sat under a space-blanket, hunkered in a hollow partially sheltered by a tumbled dry-stone wall that had once been an Iron-age steading, waiting for the rest of the rescue team to reach us through the mist and rain, I asked the rather plump Brummie with the turned ankle and broken sandal strap what he thought he was doing on Dartmoor in this weather dressed as he was? His reply was "The woif (wife) told me I ought to get out more"...

Brilliant

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I read this many years ago so I can only remember the basics of the story but here it is. A man hiking/climbing in the Andes gets in a terrible situation and needs help. He tries to call but he had let his minutes run out. Oops. His phone later rings. Its a salesman from the telco saying they noticed he had no remaining minutes and asking him if he would like to buy some more.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

But it also begs the question - if calls could get through then why didn't they call for help?

Clearly they didn't feel they needed it. Just because you've gotten a little lost doesn't mean you have to automatically call for help. Especially if they were reasonably equipped. Although bouncing around from one trail to the other does sound as though they couldn't read a simple map, either that or they didn't have one with them.

Their biggest failure was not notifying whoever was expecting them out that they were safe, and would be delayed.

I'm also curious as to why their anchor person didn't attempt to call them. (No mention is made of any attempts in the story, possibly just another failure on the reporters part).

Yes, it would have been smart to have answered the call from the unknown number on the second attempt, but hey maybe they get of get a lot of scam callers.

If I was just out in the local area then I would tell my anchor ( the person I've given my itinerary to) to call it in approximately four hours after my expected exit time. Which would itself be at least two hours later than I hoped. On a full day hike in 'the wild' my practice is that 10am the next morning would be my "overdue time" in most cases. ( Midday in winter) Sometimes you simply need daylight to safely extract yourself.

I would add that the headline is as usual incredibly misleading. It said that the person was 'missing for 24 hours' which is completely incorrect according to the text. Yes, it took them more than 24 hours from the time they left to the time they returned home but they were not 'missing' for that period.

And the story from @K_Lynn (whilst ironically funny) shows how poorly organised the tour bus leaders were. A simple head count would have solved that long before starting a search. Hardly surprising the poor woman didn't recognize her own description (she knew she wasn't missing) - I shudder to think how people would describe me!

Mistakes made, sensationalized by poor reporting.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I've decided to tell you about my 911 call in the mountains. Two years ago we were camping at the base of a mountain. We had no cell service there. I left for a 4 mile day hike up the mountain, 4 miles down the other side and 4 miles along a dirt road back to the campsite. I forgot how bad the trail down was as it was 30 years since last doing it. A good portion was very rocky and above timberline in an area with changeable and bad weather. In the late afternoon I realized I would be hiking in the dark. I looked at a map on my phone and saw that I finally had cell service but I knew Peg still wouldn't have any. After some consideration I decided to call 911 to tell them I expected Peg to call them later but I was fine. This didn't go over well until I mentioned that the call was to not have a search and rescue party sent. At that point they told me to call the local ranger station that would be in charge of one (there were maybe 3 other agencies that could have been the one and I wasn't sure how much longer I would have cellular so 911 was the way to go). The rangers said that in a circumstance like mine with no call or information to indicate an emergency they would assume that the hiker was benighted and wouldn't do anything until noon.

Peg was at the trailhead honking the car’s horn and flashing its lights when I came down. She said she was almost at the point of reporting me missing. I had told her I would be fine if late; I had almost an overnight hike’s worth of equipment with me (because I don't trust those mountains). Just three weeks ago (still an August summer) a hiker died on a nearby mountain. The last I read it was an unprepared benighted day hiker caught in bad weather overnight and indications were he died of exposure. It might have been an accident or possibly a heart attack though; I haven't seen a further report.

 

[Tincatinker]

I’m glad you made it. And I appreciate that you were equipped and aware and capable. Thanks for sharing that story.

I’ve done the bit with the stretcher, and the blanket up covering the face and the family in the car park losing hope as we got closer.

I’m struggling to finish this post

Buen Camino a todos. Be careful out there

 

[naplesdon]

Currently, the son of a good friend is hiking the AT in Tennessee. She is frantically trying to reach him but there is no cellphone service in the mountains due to Hurricane Francine.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I’m struggling to finish this post

Tinc, these stories may be a bit tough for you to read and listen to but I think in the end you will be glad that you had.

This is the story of a rescue that occurred at about the same spot as the place where I wrote a hiker died a few weeks ago. It is a rewrite or retitling of a previous story called “Footprints in the Snow" and a precursor of "Infinite Storm”, a fictionalized version of the rescue (you know the kind, Based On …).

https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1155&context=appalachia

On America's National Public Radio (NPR) there is a show called The Moth ("True stories told live.") One story I heard on January 7, 2018 was "Backside of the storm", a story told by Joe Lentini about a mountain search and rescue mission he was a part of, its dangers and its consequences. It is about 13 minutes long and it can be accessed at this URL:

http://player.themoth.org/#/?actionType=ADD_AND_PLAY&storyid=15287​

 

[bullingtonce]

Not exactly Camino related, but I was flabbergasted by this story of a hiker that was lost for 24 hours who ignored rescuers' calls because 'they didn't recognize the number'

Hiker missing for 24 hours ignored rescuers calls 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," officials said.

www.nbcnews.com

But it also begs the question - if calls could get through then why didn't they call for help?

What would we do without human nature? If animals had the ability to see us as we truly are, they would laugh themselves to death or quickly run away from their owners (those who have owners). I wonder if God sometimes wants to throw His arms up in the air and say, "I give up!" Chuck

 

[Joynz]

Not exactly Camino related, but I was flabbergasted by this story of a hiker that was lost for 24 hours who ignored rescuers' calls because 'they didn't recognize the number'

Hiker missing for 24 hours ignored rescuers calls 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," officials said.

www.nbcnews.com

But it also begs the question - if calls could get through then why didn't they call for help?

Why didn’t SAR or even the contact person just send a text! Problem of ‘not answering a call’ solved.

 

[Joynz]

Currently, the son of a good friend is hiking the AT in Tennessee. She is frantically trying to reach him but there is no cellphone service in the mountains due to Hurricane Francine.

A satellite communicator (eg In reach) lets people send messages without phone service if they want to. However, the over-anxiety of those not on a trip can be really burdensome if they are constantly wanting communication with someone living their best life out on the trail…