A woman who got lost while hiking alone at Puchong’s Wawasan Hill is warning others not to make the same mistake and shared that she may have encountered a mysterious “Uncle” figure that other missing hikers claim to have seen too.
She was stranded in the jungle for over five hours and eventually rescued by four firefighters according to her Facebook post.
Around 12:30pm on July 29, she began hiking alone while listening to a podcast, admitting she wasn’t paying much attention to the trail. After about 45 minutes, she noticed the trail was going downhill even though she hadn’t reached the peak.
Asked “Uncle” for directions and kept going
On her way down, she bumped into a middle-aged “Uncle” who appeared to be climbing up. She asked if continuing forward would lead to the exit, and he nodded silently. Relieved, she carried on.
Soon, the trail vanished. Still assuming she was going the right way, she entered a steep, rugged forest path. She slipped, crawled, and tried to follow a stream but ended up in a swampy area.
Realising she was lost, she circled the same routes repeatedly but couldn’t find a way out. It then started raining and her phone had no signal, causing her to panic.
Desperate, she paused, prayed, and miraculously saw her phone reconnect to the network. Around 1:55pm, she tried calling a friend who knew the area, but the call didn’t go through. However, she kept trying to send her location via WhatsApp.
Finally, at 2:58pm, her location was sent successfully and she managed to get in contact with her friend, telling the latter that she was trapped before losing connectivity again.
Called 999 with 20% battery level
Her friend immediately contacted the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) and advised her to stay put. She also called 999 herself and notified her brother, all while her phone battery dropped to 20%.
She was eventually rescued by firefighters and later found out that many other lost hikers claimed to have seen the same silent “Uncle” in the forest.
They told her almost every hiker who gets lost in that forest claims to have seen the same thing—a lone man, around 50 years old, walking silently and calmly ahead before vanishing.
Thanks to her quick thinking and help from a friend who called emergency services, the firefighters arrived at around 4pm, where they gave her water, cleared a path with a parang, and safely escorted her out by 4:50pm.
The officers were also searching the area that day for another woman who had also gotten lost.Both women were brought safely down and reunited with their friends and family.
‘Don’t hike alone’
The woman expressed deep gratitude to her rescuers and shared that she’s since reflected deeply on her actions.
She urges others to never hike alone, always inform someone, download offline trail maps, and bring proper essentials like water, a power bank, and first aid.
“The forest isn’t a gym. It’s not your playground. Nature doesn’t care how confident you are. Please don’t take it lightly.”
