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Subscribe to RSSA missing tour bus passenger in remote southern Iceland ended up joining her own search party last weekend without realizing the search teams were in fact looking for her, according to a report.
According to the Iceland Review, which cited the website mbl.is (site in Icelandic), a bus driver in the volcanic canyon Eldgjá reported a foreign tourist missing on Saturday after she failed to return to her tour bus.
The driver had waited an hour before contacting local search and rescue teams to look for the woman, the Review said.
But the report said the search was called off early Sunday morning after it was discovered the woman believed to be missing had been on the bus all along -- and had even participated in the search for herself.
Other passengers had not recognized the woman because she had changed her clothes and cleaned up after the stop in Eldgjá before reentering the bus, reports said.
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Around 50 people participated in the search in vehicles and by foot, the Review said.
The name of the passenger was not immediately available.
Eldgjá is approximately 150 miles east of the capital Reykjavik.
The Iceland Review quoted Sveinn K. Rúnarsson, the chief of police in Hvolsvöllur as telling mbl.is that the woman was not at fault because the bus passengers had simply not been counted correctly.
The tourist apparently did not recognize the description of herself during the ill-fated search and “had no idea that she was missing,” Rúnarsson was quoted as saying.
According to The Reykjavik Grapevine, the woman was described as "Asian, about 160 cm (about 5'3"), in dark clothing and speaks English well."
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Leave a Comment:
Can you go up to my office and see if I am there. If I am tell me that I will be back in a few minutes.
I am sure that the bus driver is more than a little embarrassed that he could not even count correctly. He caused a lot of wasted time and resources in a search for someone who was not even missing because he did not get an accurate count of his passengers.
And the description for the "missing" person was so poor that the woman who joined the search didn't realize they were describing her, which is scarier.
Even beyond the poor head-counting skills... why weren't the searchers given the name of the person they were looking for? That would have also fixed the problem!
I've gone to find myself. If I get back before I return KEEP ME HERE!
Another Msnbs article that made me think I was on the Onion for a second...
Some people can only count to nineteen, cause they have to use one finger to point with!
You know when people say they need some time to 'find themselves'? There you go, this lady did it. Congratulations! :]
This is BAAAD.
Did she get a reward for finding herself?
Of all the things I've Lost, I miss my mind the most.
This is just so crazy it's funny. I feel badly for the time and manpower wasted, but this is really funny. This reminds me of the Hitchcock movie "Trouble with Harry".
did she find her?
Well, no matter where you go, there you are.
Seek and you will find ______________________.
LOL I can't even stop laughing. How can you not know you are being searched for? Did no one say, we are looking for a so and so, height this much, color of hair, etc? Or did they just say did anyone see that lady with the sweatpants on? Who put the dumb in your wheaties this morning?
LOL. Better story than most on here.
I have climbed highest mountain
I have run through the fields
..............but I still haven't found.........................roflmao. Nice one.
Wow. She must clean up good. :P
I'd like to know what she does look like. lol
Maybe Twoface really does exist.
Please give us before and after pictures of clean up.
Bet she was offended by the description given of herself to the search teams.
Best thing I've read all day...if you can't laugh at yourself, don't laugh, right? How cute, wish all missing persons stories ended this exact way!
"The tourist apparently did not recognize the description of herself during the ill-fated search"
am I really 225 with bad teeth?
Yes,,but the description didn't mean anything to the rest of her group either, as they didn't recognize that she was there. Others see us more than we generally do.
Brings new meaning to the phrase "Trying to find yourself."
This is too funny. Needed a chuckle.
The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employees home phone number and was greeted with a child's whispered, "Hello?"
Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a youngster the boss asked," Is your Daddy home?"
"Yes", whispered the small voice. "May I talk with him?" the man asked. To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, "No."
Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked," Is your Mommy there?"
"Yes", came the answer. "May I talk with her?" Again the small voice whispered, "no".
Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child. "Is there anyone there besides you?" the boss asked the child.
"Yes" whispered the child, "A policeman". Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked "May I speak with the policeman"?
"No, he's busy", whispered the child." Busy doing what?, asked the boss. "Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman", came the whispered answer.
Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the ear piece on the phone the boss asked, "What is that noise?"
"A hello-copper", answered the whispering voice. "What is going on there?", asked the boss, now alarmed.
In an awed, whispering voice the child answered, "The search team just landed the hello-copper"
Alarmed, concerned and more than just a little frustrated the boss asked, "Who are they searching for?"
Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle: "Me."
that was good :-}
Imagine her surprise had she rescued herself.
Next time she gets lost no body is going to look for her
Really? Why would that be?
Oh, wait. She wasn't lost THIS time.
Are you a product of the U.S. public school system, Jerry?
I clearly understood Jerry to be making a "boy who cried wolf" allusion.
What's your problem, Jet?
Can't you see the Saturday Night Live skit now???? I am LMAO over this one!
I'm always thinking....."Now, where was I?"
Well done! at least she found herself!
Well, if you're going to look for someone, it's a good place to start.
Could she have found herself in a mirror?
Search Youtube. You'll find videos where the videographer walks up to people and asks them if they have seen a particular person - and the videographer describes the person they are looking for, based on the clothes the person they're talking to is wearing. In other words, you walk up to a white man wearing a red shirt and black baseball cap, and ask "Excuse me, have you seen a white guy near here? He's wearing a black baseball cap and a red shirt?", and the guy will inevitably say, "uh... no".
Ok... so... let me get this straight - the description was "Asian, about 160 cm (about 5'3"), in dark clothing and speaks English well." So, it must have been a busload of Asians. I mean... The entire Asian population of Iceland is measured in the tenth's of a percent. You are talking about 1 in several thousand.
Not one person on the bus recognized her? That's not cleaning herself up. that's a makeover!
How many Asian women does it take to play Hide-and-Seek?
One!
And when you find her, she jumps up and yells, "Supplies!".
(If you don't get the joke, I'm not going to explain it.)
She was beside herself with joy...
Duh! It pays to ask questions, doesn't it?
If she wants to find herself she should check out CCP. Its a psychological remedy center based out of Iceland that deals with finding yourself.
Hi, who are we looking for?
You.
Oh, well I'm here because I'm not all there.
Sheeeesh............................