[Friday Story] Police Prevent Head of Household's 'Extreme Choice' After Searching Mountain

Police Officers at Local Precinct Prevent Extreme Choice by Father in His 40s

"Husband Called Crying" Wife's Report Leads to Bulamsan Search
Tracked Location via GPS Comparison... Safely Rescued Within an Hour
"We Must Stay Strong" Comforted and Returned to Family

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Around 10:30 a.m. on the 21st, a call was received at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's 112 Integrated Situation Room. It was a call from a wife reporting that her husband, Mr. A, had been crying during their last phone conversation and had since lost contact.

The police judged that Mr. A was likely to attempt an extreme act. They issued a dispatch order to the Bulam Police Substation of the Nowon Police Station, which has jurisdiction, and also requested joint response from 119 emergency services. A tactical team was put on standby for the search.

Tracking the location of Mr. A's mobile phone revealed he was on Bulamsan Mountain in Nowon-gu. The substation officers immediately began climbing the mountain. Bulamsan, with an elevation of 509 meters, is considered a mountain with relatively low hiking difficulty, but it has large rock faces and dense forests in places, which could pose dangerous situations.

Bulan Mountain Hiking Trail

Due to the wide search area typical of a mountain, there was a high possibility that the search would be prolonged, but the officers came up with an idea to find Mr. A quickly. They compared the GPS (Global Positioning System) location of Mr. A's phone with the GPS location of the officers' phones and, like using navigation to find a route, set out to locate Mr. A. Fortunately, one of the officers lived nearby and frequently hiked this mountain. Thanks to this, a swift search was conducted focusing on paths where a person was likely to be.

About an hour after the report was received, at around 11:45 a.m., the police found Mr. A. He was carrying alcohol and had climbed the mountain, encountering the police near the summit.

Mr. A, a self-employed individual, confessed to the police that due to difficulties in his business caused by the COVID-19 situation, he had become despondent and intended to take an extreme step after drinking. He appeared very distressed, with his shoulders slumped in despair.

The patrol team leader from the substation empathized with Mr. A's situation and comforted him, saying, "You need to stay strong during times like this. Everyone is going through tough times, but some people overcome them wisely. Your beloved family is waiting for you, so let's gather strength and go down."

Eventually, Mr. A decided to return to his family, and the police helped support him as they descended the mountain. After resting briefly at the substation and regaining composure, he returned home safely with the officers and was reunited with his family. Chief Choi Gyu-in of the Bulam Police Substation said, "Protecting the lives and property of the people is the police's duty, and we were simply doing what we must. I am proud that our officers could help residents, and we will work even harder in the future."