A couple from central Taiwan went missing while hiking Mount Dabajian, and rescuers today found a backpack and mobile phone belonging to the husband, surnamed Ou, inside the Bajianshan Mountain Hut. Rescuers are continuing their efforts to advance into nearby valleys in a full-scale search.
A retired teaching couple in their 50s from Taichung City began their hike up Mount Dabajian on November 25 and were expected to return home on November 30 but went missing. It was reported today that hikers discovered unidentified gear at the Bajianshan Mountain Hut on December 3, suspected to belong to the missing couple.
The Taichung City Fire Department urgently sought assistance from the Linyang Camp of the Army Special Warfare Training Center, dispatching six rescuers by helicopter to the Bajianshan Mountain Hut for the search. Snow Mountain National Park also sent rescuers to assist in the operation.
In the afternoon, the Taichung City Fire Department confirmed that four rescuers arrived at the Bajianshan Mountain Hut in the afternoon, where they found a backpack containing the missing man’s mobile phone and a hat printed with the name of his former school, thus confirming it belonged to the missing man—but the couple was not found near the hut.
Rescuers are continuing their efforts to advance into nearby valleys in a full-scale search, hoping to locate the missing couple as soon as possible. 1021206
(Central News Agency)