Hiker lost in the woods for 24 hours ignores calls from rescuers because 'they didn't recognize the number'

Missing a call may not seem like a big thing, but sometimes it can mark the difference between life and death. A hiker in Colorado spent twenty-four hours in the wild as he lost track of his trail. However, when a search team set out to rescue him, the hiker ignored all their calls, as the calls were from 'unknown numbers.'

In a Facebook post, Lake Country and Research mentioned that a hiker started his trail at Mount Elbert from the South Trailhead at around nine in the morning. The hike is supposed to take not more than five to six hours. As the hiker did not return till eight in the night, the authorities reported him as missing and initiated a search. A source revealed that when the hiker did not return, "Multiple attempts to contact the subject via their cell phone were unsuccessful."

The authorities disclosed that "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." They further added that not only did the subject have no idea that SAR was searching for him, but he also consistently ignored all the calls, as they were from an 'unknown number.'  

The post further read, "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!" The authorities concluded it by writing, "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."

This adventure generated a number of responses. One comment read, "Poor Guy, glad he is fine, but it just goes to show you how bad the spam calls are getting." Another added, "I have a setting on my phone that automatically blocks unknown callers and sends them to voicemail. My phone doesn’t ring at all. Maybe the person forgot to turn theirs off when they went hiking." User @Corey Rankin commented, "May I ask anyone who doesn't answer unknown numbers why? Seriously, I have zero idea why would anyone do that. What if your family member got mugged and borrowed a phone from a stranger to call you to pick them up? And that's just one of millions of examples. And if it's a spam call, is it that much of a problem to tell them you're not interested?" while @Matt Rober David said, "Ok boomers, maybe try sending texts next time."

A comment defending the person said, "Please remember that what seems like common sense in hindsight is not obvious to a subject at 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."