My roommate has been missing over 24 hours in Arkansas. He was doing a solo hike through the woods on Buckeye trail to my knowledge in Ouachita National Forest . His mom called me and said he told her he ended up off the trail around 5:30pm yesterday and hadn’t been heard from since after a few texts (30 hours since then or so). He does have issues he takes meds for and I don’t know if he brought his meds with him (his list said he does). He can be foggy at times without them, and this could bring out anxiety massively for him.
The park rangers have been contacted and I was just informed by his mom about an hour ago. Rangers did have a search party out today, but aren’t searching at night. They know where his car is. I was told the water is safe to drink in general there and he does not have water filtration stuff. His phone is likely dead at this point but did have a spare battery and could be super rural.
Most hikes he has done were at big bend. Worst experience being me hitting half way on water on a desert hike we did and we just turned around immediately. Nothing too crazy, and this was his first alone adventure. Emory peak may be his biggest hike so far and he has been doing cardio and is in decent shape.
For now the best thing I have is his extra car key which I will give to his mom tomorrow who is heading there in the morning. I also have his list of supplies and his meds which I sent her. I am not sure if there is much benefit for me to head that way and am debating what are my best options. I have some decent experience hiking, but not that deep off grid. Getting lost out there would not help anything.
The other thing is just checking if locals nearby may be able to check the trail and general area tomorrow. I am debating on heading that way and would definitely be there Tuesday if he’s not found tomorrow.
Here was some info on the hike.
http://arkokhiker.org/southwest-arkansas/buckeye-trail-caney-creek-trail-loop-ouachita-forest/
Main items I know he should have based on his list, Camelback hiking Pack with 3 liter reservoir and lots of gear space, leatherman, 2 headlamps with no extra batteries, binoculars, first aid kit, pancho, meds, and some other basic gear. He would have left food and camping stuff in the car for this short hike I assume and would have to be crosschecked against his list. No clue if he has a whistle, mirror, blanket or other major survival gear not on the list. I would review his amazon purchases for the hike if I could, but don’t think I can check that. He got a bunch of supplies this week for the hike.
It’s probably really humid and in the upper 80’s-low 90’s tomorrow also. It was in the 90’s today. It should rain tomorrow.
What are my options, and what should I be doing? Anyone been out to this area much?
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/hiking/comments/bw6hd2/my_roommate_is_currently_lost_for_over_24_hours/
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