Incident report

Three Mountain Rescue Teams involved in a lengthy night-time search for a missing person participating in the Bullock Smithy Challenge, a 24hr long distance walk covering 56 miles of the Peak District.

The missing person, a 50 year old male from Hazel Grove, made the Edale Cross checkpoint at 17:30 but failed to make the next one in Edale village. Well into the evening he was reported as overdue and this triggered a search for Buxton team, later supported by both Edale and Kinder. Just before dawn the next day, the missing person turned up where mountain rescue vehicles were waiting for search sections to come off the hill. He was tired but uninjured.

The Bullock Smithy Challenge has been running since 1976 and is known as ‘a heck of a long walk in the Peak District’. It follows a route from Hazel Grove, and includes Chinley Churn, Kinder Scout, Mam Tor and Brand Top, near Buxton. Although the weather was dry and stable in the early evening, as the night wore on, low cloud and wind was present at higher levels.