A massive rescue bid to find a 70-year-old American tourist feared lost in the Austrian Alps when his smartwatch sent an SOS was called off when it emerged he was in his chalet.
Search teams in Silvretta Montafon, in Vorarlberg, in western Austria, scrambled when the alert repeatedly went off. On 23rd January at 4.40pm and the owner did not pick up check calls.
Local media have reported that frantic rescuers on foot and in helicopters narrowed down the search to a 2.5-kilometre radius.
But the rescue was called off two hours later when the American holidaymaker was tracked down to his accommodation in St Gallenkirch.
Police had established his identity through his smartphone provider and then cross-checked it against a list of property rentals in the ski resort.
And when they went to his chalet the ‘missing’ holidaymaker simply came to the door.
The tourist, not named by the police, said he had not noticed the emergency alerts on his watch and had simply ignored the calls made to his mobile phone.
But the smartwatch slip-up could land the owner with a massive bill.
Austria’s Interior Ministry is now examining whether he has to pay for the rescue mission.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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