By Tim Binnall
In a strange story out of Colorado, a missing hiker managed to thwart his own rescue when he refused to answer multiple phone calls from the authorities because he did not recognize their number. The weird case reportedly began on the evening of October 18th when the unnamed individual seemingly vanished while visiting the state's Mount Elbert. In response, the Lake County Search and Rescue department dispatched a team to try and locate the hiker atop the mountain. After an unsuccessful four-hour-long overnight search, a second team went looking for the man the following day. That effort was cut short, however, when rescuers received word that the man had been found and he had a rather odd story to tell.
According to the hiker, he had lost his way at some point during the excursion, but eventually managed to find his way to a trail that led to his car, which he then drove back to where he was staying. During the 24-hour-long ordeal, the man apparently had no idea that anyone was looking for him and took it upon himself to escape the predicament. This came as something of a surprise to rescuers, who indicated that they had called him several times during their search. It was then that the man explained that he saw the calls, but never answered them because he did not recognize the number and, as many can relate, he presumably assumed they were some kind of spam.
While the hiker's misadventure has received a fair share of ribbing online as well as considerable criticism for inadvertently wasting resources expended on the search to find him, the Lake County Search and Rescue department was more forgiving about the situation. "Please remember that what seems like common sense in hindsight is not obvious to a subject in the moment when they are lost and panicking," they wrote on Facebook, stressing that not everyone is familiar with the "search and rescue infrastructure that is there to help them." Be that as it may, one can't help but wonder why, even if he wouldn't take the calls, the man never bothered to phone anyone for help while he was lost on the mountain.