A search party for a missing Turkish man ended after one of the volunteers realized they were in fact the missing person, according to reports.
Fifty-year-old Beyhan Mutlu was out galivanting with friends when he disappeared into a nearby forest and didn’t return, VICE reported, citing a local Turkish outlet. His friends reportedly became worried and alerted authorities, prompting a search and rescue mission.
Bursa’nın İnegöl ilçesinde, Beyhan Mutlu isimli şahıs, kendisi için başlatılan arama çalışmalarını başkası için zannederek saatlerce kendini aradı.
Ekipler, arama çalışmasıyla ilgili tutanak düzenleyip kayıp şahsı evine bıraktılar. pic.twitter.com/yhVaPSh7wY
— Vaziyet (@vaziyetcomtr) September 28, 2021
The search party garnered dozens of volunteers to find Mutlu, according to VICE. Searchers reportedly spent hours screaming out Mutlu’s name as they searched when suddenly a volunteer spoke up. (RELATED: Drunk Man Killed By Shark After Wading Into Ocean In Brazil)
“Who are we looking for?” Mutlu reportedly said. “I am here.”
Police reportedly escorted Mutlu home.
This isn’t the first time a search and rescue has taken a bizarre turn.
A woman went missing in 2012 in Iceland and was found safe by herself after joining her missing persons search and rescue party, according to CBS. The woman broke off from her tour group and changed clothes. When she returned to her tour group, no one recognized her. Thus, they began searching for her unbeknownst she was there all along. The woman, not recognizing her own description, joined in until authorities realized the woman was safe.
In 2020, an 80-year-old man who went missing while hiking was declared safe after he showed up to a press conference that was staged to find him, according to CNN.