Woman lost for 4.5 hours in M’sia forest, says she saw mysterious uncle other lost hikers see

Woman gets lost in Wawasan Hill forest after meeting mysterious uncle

A woman’s experience of getting lost in a Malaysian forest has made waves online, following a Facebook post also detailing her supposed encounter with a mysterious uncle.

On 29 July, Ms Teh set off alone for a hike up Wawasan Hill in Puchong, Selangor.

Her friends praised her for being brave since she had never hiked up a hill before, much less Wawasan Hill, which one travel blog described as “not for first-time hikers” due to its steep climbs.

“Don’t imitate what I did, I was brave but foolish,” she wrote, using the post to encourage other hikers to be better prepared.

Woman comes across friendly-looking uncle in the forest

On the day itself, it rained when Ms Teh drove towards the hill.

She decided to wait and started the trek at 12.30pm right after the rain stopped.

While listening to a podcast, the hiker walked along a trail for around 40 minutes, when she noticed that the path was now heading downhill.

Already sweating profusely, Ms Teh decided to try for the summit another day and continued following the downhill trail.

She added that she had stopped listening to the podcast by this point.

10 minutes later, Ms Teh came across an uncle heading in the opposite direction, whom she described as a friendly-looking Chinese man in his 50s.

Relieved at meeting someone, she asked him if following the trail would lead her to the base of the hill.

The mysterious uncle silently nodded, so she thanked him and continued onwards.

Woman gets completely lost in forest after trail suddenly ends

However, the woman wound up reaching the end of the trail and continued into a rugged forest path she was not prepared for.

Ms Teh struggled through the terrain, sometimes having to crawl.

Soon, she got lost and ended up walking in circles — and to make things worse, her phone had no signal, leaving her unable to call for help.

The lone hiker tried to keep calm and decided to follow a stream, reasoning that it would lead her to the base of Wawasan Hill.

However, the stream led her into a swamp area instead, forcing her to go back uphill.

Ms Teh closed her eyes and desperately prayed for a way out. Miraculously, she found that her phone had signal once again.

She called her friend, Jun Hui, who had hiked at Wawasan Hill before.

The call made it through at 1.55pm, but her friend did not pick up.

Jun Hui messaged her on WhatsApp later, and the two tried to contact each other, but failed due to the weak signal.

Rescuers cut through vegetation with parang to find lost woman

It took more than an hour before Ms Teh could inform her friend of her location.

They managed to call for just under a minute, after which Jun Hui called the fire and rescue department and sent one of their contact numbers to Ms Teh as well.

At around 4pm, the lost hiker started yelling loudly so the rescuers could find her location as they approached.

Not long after, four firefighters emerged, chopping through the vegetation with a parang.

According to a map the rescuers had, Ms Teh had wandered a significant distance off the trail with no path.

After giving her a drink, they led her out of the forest, pulling her along in steep areas.

They emerged safely at 4.50pm.

Hikers allegedly report meeting the uncle before they get lost

Ms Teh had also told her rescuers about meeting the uncle and asking for directions.

They told the woman that hikers who got lost in the forest on Wawasan Hill commonly reported that the last person they met was a lone uncle in his 50s.

Ms Teh interpreted the rescuers as meaning that “the uncle is not a real uncle, but rather a spirit from the forest”.

As such, she told others to be respectful and watch what they say in the forest to avoid offending spirits.

Hiker thanks her rescuers & friend

The hiker took the entire incident as a lesson in humility, urging people not to hike alone and to be more prepared.

Instead, she advised them to join a group with an experienced leader, to stay calm when lost, and to bring the right equipment.

She also warned others not to make her mistake and to stay focused on not getting lost.

She gave her thanks to Jun Hui as well as her four rescuers — Andy, Amirul, Tengku, and Hasbol.

Ms Teh also extended her gratitude to the Buddhist deities, Heaven, and the mountain god for protecting her.

Also read: 20-year-old S’porean hiker gets lost on Taiwan mountain trail, rescued by local police

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Featured image adapted from Teh Chalk Bee on Facebook.