Search and rescue team was looking for a missing hiker—then someone knocked on their door

The man had undertaken a complicated hike and taken a different route before he got trapped on his way back.

PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGO

(L) A hiker looking lost in an outdoor setting. (R) A man knocking on a door. Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Alberto Menendez Cervero; Andresr

Some scary cases might get solved in unexpected ways. However, no one expected the outcome when a hiker from Alberni went missing and the search and rescue team started looking for him. The man, Dallin Beaumier, was hiking to Della Falls, the second-tallest falls on Vancouver Island. The hike to the place is quite complicated, but Beaumier decided to take a different route. Although he reached his destination safe and sound, things went awry on his way back, per CBC British Columbia. Nonetheless, his rescue was what left everyone baffled.

A hiker lost in the forest. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Daniel Gonzalez

The falls require a 32 km hike and a water taxi to reach and as Beaumier was trying to return, he lost his way and soon enough a search party was dispatched to find him. However, the search team was surprised when the man they had been looking for walked up to their office and knocked on their door. "I was sitting in the office near the hall and I heard a knock at our back door. I went and saw him and there was the person I had been looking at the picture of all day," Richard Johns, Alberni Valley Search and Rescue team member, recounted. "It was hilarious. They said they never had someone walk in after looking for them. It was pretty funny," Beaumier remarked.

A man knocking on a door. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | FG Trade Latin

Beaumier had started hiking on the trail a week before he came back on his own. He had reached the place, but when he was about to come back, he had to spend an entire night at the campsite awake and trying to deal with a cougar. After that, his car broke down and he had no way out of the situation. "The first thought I had was panic. Like, oh, I am really far, what am I going to do?" But then he calmed himself down and tried to make a plan to get out of the situation. He tied his car to a wagon that he had used for his belongings previously. The man's father contacted the search and rescue team after he didn't come back on time and a helicopter was dispatched to find him. He came back through the water taxi and left his belongings behind.

via GIPHY

The team pointed out that they won't be going back for the man's belongings, but Johns shared that he might want to bring back the wagon he used, so he could hang it at the office as a "memorabilia" for the incident. His car was still there, too. "I hate littering, but it belongs to the mountains now," Beaumier pointed out. The first responders appreciated Beaumier for being prepared to deal with an emergency situation and for his quick thinking in the face of the challenge. However, they advised that the man should bring a satellite phone and GPS with him the next time he goes on a hike.

"We always recommend having the essentials, so ways to communicate, extra food, water, signalling devices and a trip plan. In this case, it was super important, extra communication devices," Johns commented. Even after the difficult experience, Beaumier was still pretty impressed with the falls and the view. "My goodness, that Della Falls view, the three-tier waterfall, highly recommend it."