Huang Bingjun, an engineer at an electronics company, and his girlfriend Zou Shuting hiked up Mount Gary on the 10th. Unexpectedly, after reaching the summit of Mount Hakuni, they got lost on the way down. A serious argument broke out over which fork in the trail to take, causing Zou to storm off into the woods and go missing. Huang went down the mountain to seek help, but when police and firefighters launched a rescue mission the next day, Zou “played hide-and-seek,” only calling out for help at dawn on the 12th due to foot pain—and was successfully rescued.
Zheng Shengfeng, deputy chief of the Miaoli County Fire Bureau’s Third Brigade, said angrily, “This is the first time we’ve encountered such a situation. It’s simply a waste of rescue resources and has had search teams running themselves ragged.”
Three days ago, Huang Bingjun (34), a quality control engineer at an electronics company in Taipei, and his girlfriend Zou Shuting (33), drove to Nanzhuang Township and began their climb up Mount Gary from the Luchang Trailhead. After reaching the summit, they couldn’t tell which path they had come from. An argument ensued over which route to take. Zou, furious, ran off into the forest. Huang waited and called for her in vain, then hiked down overnight to seek help. Rescue personnel searched the mountain through the night but found no trace of her.
The next morning, rescuers searched again and were surprised when they found Zou. In a huff, she told them, “Just go ahead, I don’t need your help!” and then fell silent, playing hide-and-seek with the rescue team. Searchers scoured the valley but found nothing, so they left food and water along the trail before setting up camp halfway up the mountain for the night. At around 4 a.m. yesterday, rescuers heard Zou shouting for help. They finally located her and found she was suffering from severe arthritis in both feet and signs of hypothermia. A helicopter rescue was requested, but thick fog in the mountains made visibility zero, forcing them to abort the attempt. Rescuers then used a relay method and didn’t manage to get her off the mountain until the evening.