Hualien: A 29-year-old male hiker from Taipei City entered the mountains alone on May 13 from Nantou to climb the Nenggao Mountain Trail. He was expected to cross over to Tongmen in Hualien on May 28. However, after a week of waiting, his family grew anxious as he failed to return and urgently requested assistance in locating him. Due to continuous heavy rain in recent days, search and rescue efforts were hindered. Yesterday, taking advantage of clearer weather, police and firefighters dispatched personnel to the mountains to clear a helicopter landing site and expanded the search operation, hoping to locate the man as soon as possible.