How to report a missing trekker

Get help on what to do if you know someone who has gone missing while trekking in Nepal
 

Before reporting a missing trekker

If you know someone who has gone missing in Nepal here are some recommend steps you should take. However, before you take those steps you should consider the following.

Why do you think someone has gone missing?

It’s easy to think something is wrong if you have not heard from someone trekking overseas. Here are some things to consider:

  • A person has not called or emailed in a few days.
  • They have made no updates on social media
  • They are trekking and mobile reception may not be good.
  • Keep in mind that electricity is not always available in the mountains so their phone may be out of charge.
  • Internet is very patchy in the mountains
  • Maybe they are enjoying the last few days of being “off the grid”
  • Check the last trek details they sent you to confirm when they are expected back in a big city (usually Kathmandu or Pokhara). If they are over due then you may want to raise an alarm.
  • Contact the trekking agency they went with by telephone to confirm where they are. Insist that they contact the guide who went on the trek with them.
  • Contact other people in their social networks to see if they have any further details about the trek or if they’ve heard from the person.
Hopefully you’ll hear back from someone confirming the trekker is okay and just decided to take an extra day or so trekking.

  • If nobody has heard anything and the trekker is late back then you should make all immediate efforts to contact the trekking agency they went with. The trekking agency should now go to very good lengths to contact their guide and confirm everything is okay.
  • If the trekker did not go with a trekking agency or the trekking agency has not heard from anyone then you need to proceed to the steps below on reporting a missing trekker.

Steps to take when reporting a missing trekker

Gather all the data you have on the missing trekker and write it down

(you may not have all this information, but do try to answer as much as possible).

  • Name
  • Nationality
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Physical description (color of hair, eyes, skin)
  • Photographs of the trekker (close up’s of their face along with photos showing all of their body help)
  • Trekkers Passport or ID numbers
  • Name of trek they were going on
  • Name of trekking company they were with (if applicable)
  • Date they were departing for the trek
  • Date they were meant to be back from the trek
  • Name of hotels they were meant to be staying at
  • Date of entry into Nepal (what airline, tickets)
  • Scheduled data to leave Nepal (what airline, tickets)
  • Name of travel insurance company the trekker has a policy with
  • Any itinerary the trekker was planning in Nepal
  • Names and details of anyone the trekker was with in Nepal (trekking partners, traveling partners)
Contact the trekking company the trekker was with firstly and ask them for advice. A good trekking company will contact the authorities and organizations in Nepal that can help you and search for the trekker in question. They will also help co-ordinate as many people within the trekking region the trekker went missing.

Report the missing trekkers details to the following organizations yourself (even if the trekking agency is doing the same): In all cases it’s better to contact them by telephone or in person rather than email.

Important Contacts to Report a Missing Trekker in Nepal

Nepal Tourist Police
Bhrikutimandap Kathmandu. (Inside the premises of Nepal Tourism Board)
Telephone: +977-1-4247041, 1144.

Within Nepal dial 1144.
Email: [email protected]
www.nepalpolice.gov.np

Nepal Tourism Board
Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu
P.O. Box: 11018
Tel: +977 1 4256909
Fax: +977 1 4256910
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.welcomenepal.com/
Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN)
P.O. Box: 3612
Maligaun Ganeshthan, Kathmandu
Tel: +977-1-4427473, 4440920, 4440921
Fax: +977-1-4419245
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
http://www.taan.org.np/
Contact the trekkers embassy in Nepal with all the persons details.
Here is a list of embassies in Nepal: http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-in/nepal

Contact the missing trekkers travel insurance company who will advise you on the policy the trekker took with them, offer help and financial support with any search and rescue that may be needed.

Keep the following in mind as you go through the above: Communication in Nepal is not the best due to a poor infrastructure. You may have difficulty getting through to people or understanding people. Keeping calm and take notes as you go through things helps.

What happens next?

There are no formal steps on the process of looking for a missing trekker in Nepal. It’s one of the reasons this website was created. Highlighting this may help the authorities to undertake an official policy on the steps needed.

The following is what usually happens

  • Your report is filed with the Nepal Tourist Police, Nepal Tourism Board and TAAN.
  • All three organizations are meant to co-ordinate with each other in addressing the situation and in putting together a task force. Details about the trekkers Trekking Permit and TIMS are found and noted (all trekkers should have registered for a permit and a TIMS).
  • Based on the missing trekkers trekking itinerary, the number of days they were trekking, last known communication from the missing trekker and any check points they would have signed into along the trek their location is narrowed down.
  • Telephone calls are made to permit check points and tea-houses in the immediate areas where the missing trekker may be, based on their last known or predicted location.
  • Emails and telephone calls are made to registered trekking agents and guides known to operate in the area the trekker went missing to alert them.
  • If funds are available, a search party is assembled in the area the missing trekker went missing. Likewise a helicopter search can be issued, but again it is dependent on available funds.

What else can you do to help?

As the Nepali search begins you can also bring your own efforts in to help alert others about the missing trekker. The more people that know about the missing trekker the greater the chance that someone may keep an eye out or have information crucial to locating them.

Frequently asked questions on reporting a missing trekker

Who pays for a rescue?
You do, is the fast answer. Yes, there are funds available in Nepal to help search for a missing trekker but they are usually inadequate to cover intensive search operations. Having good travel insurance will help.

People have in the past used online crowd-sourcing to help fund searches e.g., gofundme.

Why do trekkers go missing in Nepal?
Common reasons trekkers go missing include: falling down, either knocking themselves out, twisting an ankle e.t.c., If they divert from a popular trail then their chances of being discovered are reduced. Natural events like landslides or severe weather can happen in an instant in the mountains.

Trekkers don’t go missing that often, however when they do then it usually makes headlines for all the reasons above. Most trekkers who go missing went alone. It is always safer to go with a guide or with someone else should you get into trouble.

Why isn't it compulsory to take a guide if it's safer?
Generally speaking trekking in Nepal is very safe. Trekking alone is a wonderful experience that people having been doing for decades.  If proper steps and precautions are taken then nobody should go missing if they are trekking alone. Forcing people to take a guide will only result in reducing the enjoyment of solo trekking. Trekkers will be forced to take a guide they may not want or feel comfortable with.

Within the international trekking community the idea of making guides compulsory is frowned upon. Enforcing regulations on outdoor activities like trekking in Nepal could turn many people off and open the flood gates for even more regulations thereby taking the fun out of trekking.

Trekking like many activities has its risks. Anyone taking part in a trek should be aware of these risks and take all the necessary precautions to eliminate such risks.

Can I post about a missing mountaineer in Nepal?
Yes. There is also no central website dealing with missing mountaineers in Nepal so we will accept a posting.
Can I post about a missing person in Nepal?
At this time we are not accepting general missing person reports, either local or tourist. We only except those that are missing while trekking in Nepal. For a general missing persons report please contact the Nepali Police.

List a missing trekker on MissingTrekker.com

 
Missing Trekker