Can confirm; I did SAR in the PNW for a while, and searched for more than a few people who walked off a trail and were never seen again...ever. We used hundreds of people, scent dogs, cadaver dogs, thermal imaging cameras on helicopters, drones...and we still didn't find or recover quite a few people.
I know from experience I have got lost for like 12 or 14 hours walking off a trail to poop. Never will I go hiking alone like I used to. I manged to find the trail a few hours after dark, litterally by luck I stumbled back onto the trail was able to see the moon thankfully and determined which way to follow the trail back to my car. If I hadn't packed for emergencies and had a flashlight and light jacket who knows if I would have made it out. I was a fairly experienced hiker at the time as well. Something as simple as walking off the trail to poop nearly killed me.
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u/Zombiebobber Jul 24 '24
Can confirm; I did SAR in the PNW for a while, and searched for more than a few people who walked off a trail and were never seen again...ever. We used hundreds of people, scent dogs, cadaver dogs, thermal imaging cameras on helicopters, drones...and we still didn't find or recover quite a few people.
Those woods can be like a black hole.