Near Miss: Missing Person

Event: Incident Report for Backpack – 2024 BKPS Group

Date: Sat–Sun, Jul 13–14, 2024 - Denver

Report Category: Near Miss / Near Hit / "Close Call"

Role of Person Involved in Incident: Student / Participant (CMC Member)

Estimate of Experience for this Activity: None or little (<1 year)

Geographic Location / Route: Rich Creek at Tumble Creek and Rich Creek Junction

Description: A primary leader reported a near-miss incident during a backpacking trip on July 13-14, 2024, for the Denver section of the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC). A student participant with less than one year of experience became separated from the group while returning from using the restroom. The student misunderstood how to use the compass and missed the designated guardrails, causing her to hike away from the group. She realized she was lost and used her whistle, which alerted the group. She was found 1/3 to 1/2 mile from her intended location. Follow-up actions are planned.

After Action Assessment:  Missing Hiker Incident During Backpacking School Field Event

Incident Scenario

During a BPKS school field event, one student went to use the rest room in the woods and became disoriented.  Although it was daylight, the student was unsure which way back to camp.  The student did have a compass but was unable to determine the correct bearing so, instead, walked away from camp.  The student then began using the whistle once it was determined they were lost.  The whistle alerted the larger group who located the missing student 1/3-1/2 of a mile from camp.

This incident was successfully resolved; there is no specific advice for the trip leaders.

The following comments are intended to provide insight to our CMC trip leaders and instructors so they can too effectively deal with an unanticipated incident.

What Went Right:

Although seldom done, this BKPS student did not inform anyone that they were leaving camp and heading out to the woods.  When the student realized they were lost, they initiated whistle blasts, but the blasts were a bit subdued according to those back at the campsite.  Luckily this student had the whistle around their neck so it was always available throughout the backpacking trip.

Once the sound was identified as actual whistle blasts, the trip leaders did a count to see who was missing?  The larger group then responded with whistle blasts of their own and quickly initiated a multi-prong search effort that found the missing hiker.  

Options for Consideration:

The BIM School has a Missing Persons Search Procedures Guide card in the Incident Management Card set.  Backcountry Incident Management & First Aid Resources and Procedures — The Colorado Mountain Club (cmc.org)

The card outlines a managed two-step set of search recommendations for trying to reconnect with the missing individual.  An unmanaged search leaves it up to the departing search party, or multiple parties, how far and how long to perform the initial search.  Since missing hikers often meet back up with the group in short order, the initial search might, for example, be limited to 15 minutes before the search group does a turn around and rejoins the larger group. 

Should it be needed, a secondary search would be in tandem with 911 notification.  Calling 911 should be looked at as a proactive effort for SAR notification, and if the missing hiker is found, SAR can be notified to stand down.  This secondary search would be a constructive effort by the group while waiting for SAR arrival.

Whistles are an important item as part of the 10 Essentials but there can be significant differences in their effectiveness.  Without a more specific product recommendation the least experienced CMC members will chose what they think is best.   Compounding the challenge, most hikers leave the whistle attached to their pack which will be left at camp (or on the trail) when they walk away.

Although whistles can be a good Plan A, and they are ubiquitous throughout the CMC, they do have serious limitations in terms of their effectiveness (audibility: it can sound like a distant bird; effective range: often limited to a few hundred feet and masked by conversations within the larger group).  Although any potential Plan B may have disadvantages as well, a Plan B is still worth considering by trip leaders.

One simple alternative can be the Team Scream.  This is where the larger group simultaneously yells the name of the missing hiker.  Testing has proved this travels much further than a single whistle and makes it more clear who/what is being signaled. 

Other Plan B examples can be the iPhone with its SOS function that will bounce the emergency text off a satellite to the Apple Call Center.  Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone - Apple Support  Although this option cannot communicate directly with the larger group it can initiate a SAR response.

Another option would be for the missing hiker to use a satellite messenger (e.g. Garmin InReach) to text the trip leader.  Of course all trip participants would need the trip leader's unique satellite address preloaded into their device, and be familiar with how to do the text.

Another Plan B option can be the up-coming Fall 2024 release of Apple iOS 18 which will provide direct satellite texting between individual users.  iOS 18 lets you send messages via satellite — here's how it works | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com) This future option will allow a missing hiker to directly text the trip leader back at camp.  Of course the trip leader, or designate, will need to be out of Airplane Mode to receive the text.

Although there has been instances where a bathroom break results in an individual losing sight of the camp (usually at night), there is not a broad awareness amongst trip leaders that this is a potential risk.  Proactive suggestions to trip participants might include 1) bring the whistle with them, 2) take a quick compass bearing before departure, 3) have the smartphone or Garmin InReach handy.

There is also a trip leader expectation that students taking follow-on classes will retain the information previously learned (e.g. how to take a compass bearing).  Unfortunately, what students remember from previous CMC classes varies significantly, with some having little retention while others exceedingly well.  Although schools can't reteach the entire curriculum from a prior course, perhaps some of the more critical elements might be reviewed.  To do this a school might identify what are their biggest concerns?  An Injured hiker or a missing hiker are two obvious examples.

Instructors are not only subject matter experts, they also have experience assessing student capabilities and human behavior.  There are times when the instructor may need to discuss with the school director the suitability of a student continuing with the course.  Sometimes hard decisions need to be made, and tuition reimbursed, rather than one student impacting the experience for the others.  "Suitability" tends to be observed early in a course curriculum.

For more information on managing the variety of backcountry incidents, please visit the Backcountry Incident Management School homepage: Backcountry Incident Management School - Denver — The Colorado Mountain Club (cmc.org)

Rich McAdams
Director, Backcountry Incident Management School
Rich.McAdams@hotmail.com