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With scam calls increasingly becoming commonplace nowadays, many are taking to ignoring incoming calls from unknown numbers.

However, a hiker in the United States seemingly took that personal policy a bit too far.

According to Lake County Search and Rescue (LCSAR), the hiker who had been lost in Colorado's Rocky Mountains for about 24 hours ignored calls from rescue workers because he didn't recognise the phone number.

In a post on Facebook, LCSAR wrote that the off-track individual started the hike at 9am on Oct. 18 but had not returned to his accommodation by 8pm that evening, prompting the deployment of a search party.

They made multiple attempts to contact the hiker on their cell phone but were unsuccessful.

Unable to find the hiker, the search party paused their search at 3am that evening, beginning again the next morning at 7am.

Hiker shows up the next day

However, by 9:30am that morning, the search was called off as the hiker had returned to their place of lodging.

He or she had apparently gotten lost around nightfall and spent the night searching for the way back, none the wiser about the ongoing search.

"One notable takeaway," wrote LCSAR, "is that the subject ignored repeated phone calls from us because they didn’t recognise the number."

"If you’re overdue according to your itinerary, and you start getting repeated calls from an unknown number, please answer the phone; it may be a SAR team trying to confirm you’re safe!"

Responding to derisive comments, LCSAR generously noted that one's judgement can be impaired in times of great stress.

"Please remember that what seems like common sense in hindsight is not obvious to a subject in the moment when they are lost and panicking."

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Top image adapted from photo by Jamie Street via Unsplash