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Two missing foragers in China ignored rescue calls for 17 hours after fearing mountain spirits were trying to steal their souls
Imagine being lost in the wilderness without food or water for nearly 30 hours, hearing search teams call your name, and deliberately walking in the opposite direction.
That was precisely what happened in Huairou District, Beijing, when two neighbours went missing while foraging for herbs on 29 July.
The pair, a 73-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman, had hearing impairments and ventured into the mountainous area without mobile phones
After local authorities received a report, emergency teams spent 17 hours navigating steep terrain and slippery paths through the night to locate them.
According to the South China Morning Post, when rescuers finally reached the exhausted duo, they discovered a bizarre reason for the delay.
The pair had heard the search party calling out long before they were found, but deliberately chose not to answer or reveal their position.
Their refusal stemmed from a deeply rooted belief in Chinese folklore: "If you hear your name called in the mountains, do not respond, and do not say that you are thirsty or hungry"
According to local legend, mountain demons and wandering spirits mimic familiar voices to lure lost travellers into disorientation, danger, or possession.
Driven by this belief, the pair walked away from the sounds to distance themselves from what they assumed were malicious entities, missing multiple opportunities to be rescued.
They only acknowledged the searchers once the team physically reached them on the mountain.
The pair's ordeal sparked widespread commentary online after being shared on social media
"From the perspective of the elderly, those 17 hours must have been quite painful. They might have thought the king of Hell had sent many devils to claim their lives," commented an online observer.
Huairou firefighters have since advised the public not to let superstitious beliefs interfere with rescue efforts during emergencies.
