This one's for you, Ergophobe!
QuoteA lost Colorado hiker who was gone for 24 hours ignored rescuers' calls because the hiker didn't recognize the phone number, officials say
https://www.insider.com/hiker-lost-for-day-ignored-calls-because-of-unrecognized-number-2021-10
So I take it they didn't leave a voicemail or try sending a text. Seems like an incomplete story. If I'm lost but figuring it out on my own, I probably wouldn't answer either.
The problem is we've let the giant, rich telecoms get away with not fixing spam calls.
Probably had the phone set to ring on "Contact List Only."
That's funny. I wonder who called in the rescue and if the hiker had any clue that someone might do that.
>>If I'm lost but figuring it out on my own, I probably wouldn't answer either.
That was my first thought, *assuming* I had not left an itinerary with someone. In my younger days, I used to always add one day to every itinerary. If I planned on being out for a dayhike, I would say not to call for a rescue until the following day. Now that I'm married, that is not acceptable protocol.
Related, some years ago, a person got slightly off trail, decided she was lost and sat down to wait for rescue. She was apparently only about 200 yards from the trail and, if she had a map would have known that she was in a triangle defined by three trails, all less than a half mile away and also less than a half mile from the river that she was following. Ten minutes of walking in *any* direction would have gotten her to a trail. She had learned that if you're lost you should stay put, so she did. For three or four days.
When I was a ranger, people were not infrequently (a few times a month) asking to start a search because their son was overdue.
Q. How long has he been lost?
A. Two hours.
Q. How old is he?
A. Thirty five.
>>not fixing spam calls
Don't go asking people to examine root causes. People hate that.
PS - I shared this with a close friend who has long been involved in S&R, teaches swiftwater rescue to park service and wrote a book about how to interact with family/friends during and after a search or rescue.
When Accidents Happen: Managing Crisis Communication as a Family Liaison Officer
His immediate response was much like ours: "i think the story is abit skewed although funny. He ended up self rescuing and the SAR team never texted him?"