TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A hiker surnamed Huang who went missing on Sunday night (Sept. 19) while climbing Baigu Mountain in central Taiwan was found dead at the bottom of a deep valley by Czech Beast Runners member Petr Novotny on Wednesday.
Huang, 60, was a member of a hiking team of 17 people that embarked on a day trip shortly after midnight on Sunday. He was reported missing around Mount Sanzhui on Sunday evening.
A search by four Nantou County firefighters and a National Airborne Service Corps helicopter Monday failed to find the missing hiker, while private groups also joined the ongoing search-and-rescue effort.
Huang’s remains were found by Novotny, who sent the geographical coordinates of the location to the fire bureau, which was assessing whether to use a stretcher or airlift to transport the body out of the mountains, CNA reported.
As Huang was found at the bottom of a valley, some surmised that he could have died from a fall or of hypothermia. The cause of his death will be determined by a medical examiner.
Novotny, who is well known for his mountaineering abilities, had just participated in the search-and-rescue effort for a missing dirt bike rider in a mountainous area in Hsinchu County a week earlier. He learned of the hiking accident on Baigu Mountain on Monday and volunteered to join the search right away.
He searched the area near the trailhead on Monday until deep into the night and failed to find the missing hiker, per CNA. He slept in his car overnight and started searching again on Tuesday.
Novotny’s wife, Eva Lobo, said Wednesday that her husband searched a large area on Tuesday but still did not find any traces of Huang.
Novotny came to think Huang might have tried to find a water source and began to search the Mount Sanzhui area on Wednesday, Lobo said. Hoping to find the missing hiker alive, Novotny instead found Huang dead at the bottom of a deep valley below the summit of the peak, she added.
(YouTube, Beast Runners 跑山獸 video)
Petr Novotny (Petr Novotny photo)