What am I missing here? Rescue Team with Undisclosed Number.

Henro

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Just read an article, which basically blames a "lost" hiker for not answering cell phone calls from a search team. The search teams calls showed up as "unknown number."

I NEVER answer calls from unknown numbers. Or calls from out of the area that if I do not recognize the number, which I never do recognize.

Common sense tells me the search teams should use a number that identifies who they are. Am I out of my mind here?

My advice: Rescue team, identify yourself when calling someone you are trying to rescue, especially if he may not think he is in trouble to begin with...

(CNN) — A Colorado rescue team has some simple advice for lost hikers or anyone else who might find themselves stranded in the mountains -- answer your phone.
Lake County Search and Rescue says it got a report last week that a hiker hadn't returned from a hike on Mount Elbert. The hiker had set out at 9 a.m. on October 18 and wasn't back at 8 p.m., LCSAR said in a post on its Facebook page.
Related content
Group of bystanders builds makeshift stretcher to help rescue an injured hiker from a Colorado mountainside
Rescuers tried to call the person's cell phone multiple times, but weren't able to reach them.

Five LCSAR team members looked for the hiker in areas where people tend to get lost, but called off the search at 3 a.m. A three-person search team checked another area at 7 a.m.
They got a call at about 9:30 a.m. that the hiker, who was not identified, had returned to where they were staying.

The hiker had no idea that rescuers were looking for them, the post said.


Also, have you noticed some articles in different media (including this one) now mix singular and plural grammar? Hiker...they? Singular/Plural mismatch. At least it was at one time. Suppressed gender syndrome?
 

Jchonline

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We have lots of unprepared hikers in CO (many visitors, some residents).. My wife is the day hiker in our family, she takes a German Shepherd, a Sat phone, a gun, med kit, a cell phone, a pack with survival gear and 2-3L of water. The dog also has a backpack with water. And she is the expert hiker, probably 80 miles a week in the peak season. She knows the conditions, the terrain, has a planned gps based route for every one of them, has a battery backup for the phone just in case.

Now to the phone...if it would ring and you are lost then anyone is going to answer it. However, the person didnt think they were in need of rescue, or maybe even had their phone off. It doesnt sound like they planned well though. People die every year hiking in CO, most due to lack of respect for conditions/nature.

If I was not lost you can bet I wont be answer the phone from a blocked number! I usually use airplane mode unless I specifically need the phone for something...and most of the time there is no cell signal anyway. The fact that they had one means they really werent far from civilization.
 
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jimh406

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I’d answer it if they called over and over. That’s not the typical telemarketer or spam person. Just something to think about, what if someone you cared about was trying to reach you or had an accident and had to use someone else’s phone?

Sure, one random call ignore it. Called over and over, something is up.
 
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Henro

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I’d answer it if they called over and over. That’s not the typical telemarketer or spam person. Just something to think about, what if someone you cared about was trying to reach you or had an accident and had to use someone else’s phone?

Sure, one random call ignore it. Called over and over, something is up.
I agree.

But they could leave a message.

If spammers leave a message I do listen to them for a second before deleting. Just to make sure it was not an important, legitimate call that I did not answer. If a message is not left, I simply block the number, and delete the number from the phone history. Just what I do, not sure if wise or not...

Edit: That article makes it sound like the person's phone WAS working and he just ignored the unknown caller. Who knows, perhaps his phone was not working and the system just send the callers to voice mail. I try to keep in mind the old saying, there are three sides to every story. One side, the other side, and let the truth be known!
 
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Jchonline

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I’d answer it if they called over and over. That’s not the typical telemarketer or spam person. Just something to think about, what if someone you cared about was trying to reach you or had an accident and had to use someone else’s phone?

Sure, one random call ignore it. Called over and over, something is up.
That makes sense.
 

RCW

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Yep, repeated calls or someone leaving a message will get my attention. Both good points.
 

hagrid

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Should've sent a text. Everyone looks at those.
 
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DustyRusty

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As a retired EMT I can tell you why they block the number. They don't want people to use the telephone number for emergencies. That is what 911 is for. The operators are trained to notify the proper agency depending on the nature of the emergency. If you are on Medicare, and you call any of your medicare providers or even the doctor's office, they instruct you to call 911 if this is an emergency. I know that most blocked caller numbers are blocked for a reason, so I will always answer them. If it turns out to be a telemarketer, I just tell them to hang on, and that I have something to do, and then wait till they hang up. I enjoy wasting their time.
 

Jchonline

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As a retired EMT I can tell you why they block the number. They don't want people to use the telephone number for emergencies. That is what 911 is for. The operators are trained to notify the proper agency depending on the nature of the emergency. If you are on Medicare, and you call any of your medicare providers or even the doctor's office, they instruct you to call 911 if this is an emergency. I know that most blocked caller numbers are blocked for a reason, so I will always answer them. If it turns out to be a telemarketer, I just tell them to hang on, and that I have something to do, and then wait till they hang up. I enjoy wasting their time.
Why not have all of their phones CallerID with something besides “UNKNOWN NUMBER”…..something like “EMERGENCY SERVICES”.
I get SO many junk calls per day it really is difficult to know what to answer. That said I do appreciate your input and explanation.
 

aaluck

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As a retired EMT I can tell you why they block the number. They don't want people to use the telephone number for emergencies. That is what 911 is for. The operators are trained to notify the proper agency depending on the nature of the emergency. If you are on Medicare, and you call any of your medicare providers or even the doctor's office, they instruct you to call 911 if this is an emergency. I know that most blocked caller numbers are blocked for a reason, so I will always answer them. If it turns out to be a telemarketer, I just tell them to hang on, and that I have something to do, and then wait till they hang up. I enjoy wasting their time.
That's a good explanation but this is 2021. They can have the caller ID say anything they want and 99% of the folks in trouble (with a brain) are not going to go to call history and try and fine that number in an emergency--they will call 911.

Now on the other hand, if I'm lost I'm picking up every call assuming its someone trying to find me.
 
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Toyboy

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In my case, I'll only recieve calls from phone #'s in my contact list and I didn't activate the call message feature.
 

aaluck

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In my case, I'll only recieve calls from phone #'s in my contact list and I didn't activate the call message feature.
I have actually thought about doing this myself--to rid myself of the 3-5 calls a day telling me my warranty has expired.

However, I worry, what if one of my kids gets into a wreck and someone is calling to tell me? What if there is a legitimate business call from someone I deal with that has my cel number but not in my contacts.
 

aaluck

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"lost" hiker for not answering cell phone calls from a search team. The search teams calls showed up as "unknown number."
It just dawned on me after reading this again... If you have cel service and ignore the calls, are you really 'lost'?

Can't you just go to Maps and put in the location you want to go to?
 
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johnjk

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I block unknown callers. If you aren’t in my address book you don’t get through BUT you can leave a message. Why didn’t they do that? As others stated send a text as well. They always get through