Missing US hiker refused to attend calls by search team for 24 hours

A missing hiker in the United States had refused to answer phone calls from a search team looking for them by thinking as if it was from an unknown number.

The Lake County Search and Rescue, on its Facebook page, issued a statement about the incident regarding the missing hiker.

“At approximately 2000 on October 18th LCSAR was called out for an overdue hiker on Mount Elbert,” the Facebook post read.

“The reporting party reported the subject had started hiking Mount Elbert from the South Trailhead at 0900 that morning and had not returned by 2000 that evening. Multiple attempts to contact the subject via their cell phone were unsuccessful.”

The statement stated that five of its team member were sent to look in high probability areas on Mount Elbert but were unsuccessful in finding the subject. They left the area on the following day 19th at 3am. After nearly four hours, another team started looking in a different area where hikers usually lose track.

The post mentioned that they were informed that the hiker had returned to the place where he was staying at 9:30.

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“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 rescue team stated.

They further mentioned that the man refused to attend the calls made by them as he did not recognize their number.