Lost hiker ignored rescuers' calls, assumed unknown number was spam
Published in Weird News
(UPI) A Colorado search and rescue team said a hiker lost on a mountain trail for about 24 hours didn't answer phone calls from the team because they assumed the calls were spam.
Lake County Search and Rescue said a report came in Oct. 18 about a hiker who had set out for walk on Mount Elbert at 9 a.m. and hadn't returned to their companions by 8 p.m.
A rescue team searched the area until 3 a.m., before calling off the search until 7 a.m. The team attempted to call the missing person's cellphone multiple times, but didn't receive an answer.
The agency received word about 9:30 a.m. that the hiker had located their car and returned to the place where they had been staying.
The hiker told officials they hadn't answered the phone calls because they assumed they were being called by telemarketers or scammers.
"One notable take-away is that the subject ignored repeated phone calls from us because they didn't recognize the number," the agency wrote in a Facebook post.
"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!"
Copyright 2021 by United Press International
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