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Receiving unwanted spam phone calls has become a common annoyance in modern times. Many people tend to ignore calls from unfamiliar numbers to avoid being bothered by automated messages pitching various products or scams. This prevalent issue of spam calls recently created a problematic situation in the mountains of Colorado.
An unnamed hiker embarked on a journey into the Colorado mountains on October 18 but accidentally wandered off the designated path, becoming lost. When the Lake County Search and Rescue team was sent out to locate the missing hiker, they tried reaching out to the hiker’s cell phone to ascertain their safety and location. Fortunately, the hiker had their cell phone with them. Unfortunately, due to the calls from Search and Rescue appearing as unknown numbers, the hiker chose to ignore them.
Hiker lost for 24 hours ignored calls from rescuers because of unknown number https://t.co/ik9b7wWTIt pic.twitter.com/9sJTU1pRYS
— New York Post (@nypost) October 25, 2021
The search efforts persisted for a full 24 hours before eventually being called off, as the hiker managed to make their way back down the mountain to their car. Reportedly, the hiker “lost the trail around nightfall and spent the night trying to find the trail, and once back on the trail, wandered onto different paths in an attempt to locate the correct trailhead.” The hiker remained oblivious to the ongoing search and rescue operations until later.
Officials noted, “One significant lesson learned is that the hiker ignored multiple phone calls from us due to not recognizing the number. If you are overdue according to your planned schedule and receive repeated calls from an unfamiliar number, please answer the phone as it could be a Search and Rescue team trying to confirm your safety!”
