Overview
- The woman, a Hong Kong national, first called emergency services saying she was lost on Mount Cheolma at 9:06 p.m. on Friday, using the phrase “iron horse” to describe her location.
- Search teams mobilized across Friday night and Saturday morning with firefighters, crews and a helicopter, deploying 34 personnel and 13 pieces of equipment in the initial operation.
- In a final Saturday morning call she reported her phone battery was at 7 percent and the device later powered off, preventing authorities from tracking her in real time.
- Namyangju police reviewed CCTV footage, confirmed she had left the mountain and returned home, and located her at 10:51 a.m. on Sunday through door‑to‑door canvassing; she confirmed making the distress calls.
- Officials said there were no signs of criminal activity and they will close the case, a resolution that highlights limits of phone‑based tracking and the practical value of CCTV checks and local canvassing in missing‑person searches.