"Can You Hear Me, Ma'am?"... Officers Carry Lost Elderly Person Down Rain-Soaked Hillside

Elderly person reported lost on hillside amid typhoon
Police push through thorn bushes, take turns carrying them down
"We did our best to the end, as if searching for our own family"

Police officers fought their way through thorn bushes to find an elderly person who had gotten lost on a hillside in torrential rain brought on by a typhoon, then carried them down the mountain.

On November 2, the Korean National Police Agency uploaded a video to its official YouTube channel, “Korean National Police Agency,” showing the rescue of an elderly person who had gotten lost on a hillside in Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City on October 25.

"As if searching for family"... Rescue on a hillside in the rain

A video showing police officers finding and escorting an elderly person who had become lost on a hillside amid torrential rain caused by a typhoon has been released on the National Police Agency's YouTube channel.

Police reportedly received a call saying, "I got lost in the mountains, and I don't know where I am." Heavy rain was falling and temperatures had dropped under the influence of Typhoon No. 30, Champi.

The responding officers searched the mountain, calling out, "Can you hear me, ma'am?" As they pushed through paths tangled with vines and thorn bushes using umbrellas and their bare hands, their clothes tore and thorns pierced their skin. One officer said, "My clothes are getting torn up" and "I'm going to fall," but kept going, saying, "We have to look a little longer. We're almost there."

Then they heard a faint voice from somewhere. The officers called out, "Try calling out," and "Just one more time," and moved toward the sound. At last, they found the elderly person. The video captured someone shouting, "We found her!" One officer checked on the elderly person, who had been scratched by thorn bushes, and said, "You must have been pricked by thorns, too, ma'am. You've been through a lot." The elderly person replied, "Thank you."

The way down the mountain was also difficult. The officers supported the elderly person, saying, "Hold on to me, ma'am. Grab onto my back," and took turns carrying the exhausted person down the mountain. The elderly person was handed over to an ambulance crew from the 119 emergency services, which had been called in advance, and received emergency treatment.

Senior Inspector Yang Dongho of the Jiwon Police Substation at Gwangju Dongbu Police Station, who helped rescue the elderly person at the time. National Police Agency YouTube.

Lieutenant Yang Dongho of the Jiwon Police Substation at Gwangju Dongbu Police Station, who took part in the rescue, said, "We did our best to the end, as if we were searching for one of our own family members." He added, "The Korean National Police will never give up when people need help. We will keep searching and stay by their side to the very end." The video ends with the words, "Go, Korean National Police!"

People who watched the video responded with comments such as, "It brings me to tears. I'm moved by how hard they worked," "Just imagining spending the night in thorn bushes in the rain is terrifying," "The word 'ma'am,' shouted without giving up in the dark and rain, really touched my heart," and "It feels even more moving, as if a real son had found his mother and brought her home."

Three in 10 mountain accidents involve people getting lost... How to share your location

Accidents involving people getting lost in the mountains are especially common in autumn. According to the National Fire Agency, there were 30,583 mountain rescue cases over the three years from 2023 to 2025. Of these, 12.4% occurred in October, during the fall foliage season, making it the busiest month of the year. By cause, slips and falls were the most common, with 9,806 cases (32.1%), followed by people getting lost, with 8,954 cases (29.3%).

If you get lost in the mountains, look for a nearby National Grid Number sign. National Grid Numbers are unique identifiers assigned to a 10-meter grid system covering the country. They are mainly installed in mountains and along rivers, where there are no street addresses. If you call 112 or 119 and provide the number, rescue teams can immediately pinpoint your location.

Even part of the number can help with a rescue. In July, a hiker who injured their leg on a hillside in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province, called 119, but frequent call drops in the mountains made it difficult to determine their location. Firefighters and police narrowed the search area by analyzing the few digits of the National Grid Number the hiker gave just before the call dropped, along with the location of the cellular tower, and rescued the hiker.

If you cannot see a National Grid Number sign, you can also provide the number on a mountain location marker along the trail or on a multipurpose location marker in a national park. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety advises people who get lost not to take side trails, but to retrace their steps to a familiar point. After calling for help, they should wait for rescuers somewhere with good mobile phone reception.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.