In 2017, a pilot flying over Western Australia noticed an SOS made of rocks in a remote location. Realizing that somebody could be stranded in this hostile environment, the pilot reported it to police, who launched an investigation.
The mysterious SOS was later revealed to have been created four years earlier, when a couple became stranded on their yacht in Swift Bay. They survived on meagre rations before being rescued by a passing yacht days later.
Despite this SOS signal not aiding their survival, it was certainly a smart way to increase their chances of rescue, however not all SOS stories have such a positive and logical conclusion, so here are Chilling SOS Calls That Have Never Been Explained.
In July 1989, two hikers from Tokyo visited the Daisetsuzan National Park in Hokkaido where they planned to hike to Mount Asahidake. During their trek, the men became stranded and when they didn’t return home as scheduled on July 24th, a search was launched. An SOS sign made from birch tree logs was spotted from a helicopter and the lost hikers were eventually rescued. During their recuperation, the hikers were commended by the rescue pilots for building the SOS signal they had spotted. This clearly baffled the men who denied any knowledge of the signal, so the rescue mission was relaunched the next morning because of fears that more people were stranded on the mountain.
After another search of the area, a backpack was found containing a tape recorder and the driving license of 25 year old Kenji Iwamura. On the tape recorder was the recording above.
Five years earlier, Kenji had decided to hike a similar route but when he failed to check out of his hotel two days later, the owner called the police and a search party was launched. It was called off after 30 days as no trace of Kenji was found.
After reinvigorating the search following the discovery of the backpack, rescue teams found human bones not far from the SOS signal which they eventually announced to be Kenji’s. Investigators couldn’t determine the cause of death from his remains so the investigation was closed. Some reports suggest that the police originally identified the body as that of a woman with type O blood before re-analyzing it and concluding that it was a male with type A blood, which matched Kenji.
Many people still question the police explanation of Kenji’s final moments. How did Kenji move the gigantic birch logs used to construct the SOS signal? The trees were also apparently felled with an axe, although no large bladed object was ever found nearby.
