Lost for a Week in Taiwan’s Mountains, an Australian Tourist Survived Thanks to His Saxophone

Matthew, a 50-year-old Australian, made headlines this week after disappearing for an entire week in a dangerous mountainous area in Taiwan. 

According to him, he took his saxophone and backpack and headed deep into the mountain terrain after an argument with his wife. “I had no idea I wouldn’t be able to find my way back,” he now recalls, after his survival story came to light. 

According to reports, Matthew lost his way in the mountains near the city of Taitung on Taiwan’s eastern coast. He said he did not have enough food, suitable shoes, or electronic devices that could have helped him call for help. To survive, he drank rainwater and sheltered inside a cave that protected him from the cold and the heavy rain.

He managed to survive like that for a week, and then an idea suddenly came to him. “I took my saxophone with me in my backpack so I could play it in the mountains and calm down after the fight with my wife. Then I thought, why not play it to signal rescue teams where I am, if they really did come looking for me?!” Looking back, it turns out that this step saved his life, because the rescue teams searching the area did in fact hear the sounds and were able to locate the cave where he was hiding. 

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He Narrowly Escaped Hypothermia

“It’s a miracle,” Matthew said after he was rescued. “I was afraid to leave that cave, because I didn’t know what predatory animals were in the area or whether they would be able to find me outside of it.”

The Taitung County Fire Department received a report of his disappearance on May 11 and launched a wide-ranging search operation involving several rescue agencies. After hearing the sound of the saxophone, drones were able to locate him as early as the next day, but the harsh weather conditions, and the unstable ground prevented rescuers from reaching him quickly.

At one stage, food was flown to him by drone, and only after several days of walking were the rescue teams able to reach him on foot. Representatives of the rescue services estimated that the rain in the area most likely saved his life, because it provided him with a steady source of water. The cave where he hid also helped protect him from hypothermia and the severe weather conditions.