Australian Man Missing in Mountains, Taitung Fire Department Finds Him on Cliff but Rescue Difficult
An Australian man, possibly after an argument with his wife, went missing in the mountains of Taitung County. The fire department, using a drone, located him in a cave on a steep cliff in the Coastal Mountain Range. He is conscious, but the challenging terrain and unstable weather are making rescue operations difficult.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 12, 2026 at 16:54
- 🔍 Collected: May 12, 2026 at 17:02 (7 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 13, 2026 at 03:22 (10h 20m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Taitung, May 12, Central News Agency reporter Lee Hsien-Feng) An Australian man in Donghe Township, Taitung County, is suspected to have gone missing in the mountains after an argument with his wife. After receiving a report, the fire department launched a search and rescue operation. Today, a drone located him in a cave on a steep cliff in the Coastal Mountain Range. However, the trapped location is precipitous, and rescue personnel are climbing to his aid.
Matthew, an Australian man around 50 years old, went missing four days ago, possibly after an argument with his wife. Relatives searched everywhere for him. As he had previously hiked many times in the New Xiaoma section of the mountains behind the tribal village, and enjoyed surfing and was very fit, they started searching in the mountain area first. They indeed found his motorcycle parked at the foot of the mountain, so they requested assistance from the fire department.
After receiving the report, the Taitung County Fire Department set up a forward command post and went up the mountain for search and rescue. Operations were halted last night due to heavy rain. This morning, a rescue team went up the mountain and used a drone to assist with filming, clearly capturing the foreign man in a cave on a steep cliff. He was able to move and was conscious, but the cave is located in a V-shaped cliff where it's easy to go down but difficult to come up.
Firefighters speculate that Matthew might have climbed along the mountain ridge and then descended to this cave, but was unable to escape on his own. The area around the cave is densely forested, with no discernible paths. It would take ground rescue personnel one to two days to reach the location, and air rescue helicopters can only conduct aerial reconnaissance but cannot hoist. In addition, recent unstable weather and continuous heavy rain are severely affecting the rescue progress.
Rescue personnel indicated that, if weather conditions permit, they will first use a drone to transport simple food supplies. Simultaneously, they are working to clear a path to the cliff cave by hand, aiming to rescue the man as soon as possible. (Editor: Chang Ya-Ching) 1150512
Choose to stand with facts, your every sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.
(Taitung, May 12, Central News Agency reporter Lee Hsien-Feng) An Australian man in Donghe Township, Taitung County, is suspected to have gone missing in the mountains after an argument with his wife. After receiving a report, the fire department launched a search and rescue operation. Today, a drone located him in a cave on a steep cliff in the Coastal Mountain Range. However, the trapped location is precipitous, and rescue personnel are climbing to his aid.
Matthew, an Australian man around 50 years old, went missing four days ago, possibly after an argument with his wife. Relatives searched everywhere for him. As he had previously hiked many times in the New Xiaoma section of the mountains behind the tribal village, and enjoyed surfing and was very fit, they started searching in the mountain area first. They indeed found his motorcycle parked at the foot of the mountain, so they requested assistance from the fire department.
After receiving the report, the Taitung County Fire Department set up a forward command post and went up the mountain for search and rescue. Operations were halted last night due to heavy rain. This morning, a rescue team went up the mountain and used a drone to assist with filming, clearly capturing the foreign man in a cave on a steep cliff. He was able to move and was conscious, but the cave is located in a V-shaped cliff where it's easy to go down but difficult to come up.
Firefighters speculate that Matthew might have climbed along the mountain ridge and then descended to this cave, but was unable to escape on his own. The area around the cave is densely forested, with no discernible paths. It would take ground rescue personnel one to two days to reach the location, and air rescue helicopters can only conduct aerial reconnaissance but cannot hoist. In addition, recent unstable weather and continuous heavy rain are severely affecting the rescue progress.
Rescue personnel indicated that, if weather conditions permit, they will first use a drone to transport simple food supplies. Simultaneously, they are working to clear a path to the cliff cave by hand, aiming to rescue the man as soon as possible. (Editor: Chang Ya-Ching) 1150512
Choose to stand with facts, your every sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.