Solo hiker found dead after going missing in eastern Taiwan

東台灣獨自攀登客在失踪後被發現死亡

Father of missing hiker said his son got stuck between two cliffs after fall


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A male solo hiker was found dead between cliffs Thursday (June 9), three days after he was reported missing.

The father of a 28-year-old Kaohsiung man surnamed Chen (陳) reported at around 12 p.m. on Tuesday (July 7) that his son had gone missing. He said his son went to climb Mt. Liwu (立霧山) in Taroko National Park in Hualien County by himself last Saturday (June 4), but he lost his way and had a slip-and-fall accident during the return trip, according to a Facebook post by the Taroko National Park Headquarters on Friday (June 10).

The father said his son had spent two nights in the mountains trying to find his way back to the trail, without water, food, warm clothes, rain gear, or a headlight.

After receiving the report, the Hualien County Fire Department contacted Chen and figured out that the hiker was stuck on the hillside east of the Mt. Luwu viewing platform at an elevation of about 450 meters above sea level, according to park headquarters. As the weather was not good, the National Airborne Service Corps was not able to conduct an air rescue.

The first batch of six ground rescuers went out at 2:14 p.m. After arriving at the viewing platform, they rappelled down the mountain and kept searching until 23:39 p.m., according to the Facebook post.

The next morning, Wednesday (June 8), the second batch of nine rescuers joined in the search while the air rescue service was still stalled due to bad weather. At 12:23 p.m., Chen sent out the last message saying that his cell phone was running out of battery. The firefighters responded by telling him to keep calm and stay where he was to wait for rescue.

At 6:40 a.m. on Thursday (June 9), ground rescuers continued to search for the missing hiker while an airborne service helicopter took off at 6:52 a.m. to join the search. The rescue helicopter spotted Chen lying unresponsive, and ground rescuers found him at an elevation of about 360 meters with a fractured skull and no vital signs. On Friday morning, Chen was airlifted off the mountain.

The national park headquarters reminds mountain climbers to keep calm when they find themselves lost and, in case they cannot find their way back to the trail, stay where they are and wait for rescue.