A HIKER in Colorado, the U.S. who had wandered off the trail and got lost ignored repeated phone calls from rescuers because the hiker didn’t recognize the number, officials said.

The person started hiking Mount Elbert from the South Trailhead on Oct. 18 around 9 a.m., Lake County Search and Rescue (LCSAR) said. The hiker did not return by evening. Five LCSAR members searched for the hiker until early the next morning but were unsuccessful.

The missing hiker finally showed up at their place of lodging around 9:30 a.m. and the search was called off, LCSAR said.

The hiker told rescue officials he had wandered off the trail around nightfall and could not find his way back. He said he spent the night searching for the trail, and once located, bounced around onto different trails trying to locate the proper trailhead — all while not realizing that a rescue team was out looking for him.

LCSAR said the subject ignored “repeated phone calls” because he simply didn’t recognize the number.

LCSAR has now left other hikers with some advice: “If you’re overdue according to your itinerary, and you start getting repeated calls from an unknown number, please answer the phone.”

(SD-Agencies)