SOS Message Has Australian Police Scratching Their Heads

It's unclear if someone is in need of help or was playing a prank
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted May 26, 2017 6:05 PM CDT
SOS Message Has Australian Police Scratching Their Heads
An SOS message in a remote part of Australia has police searching for answers--and possibly missing people.   (Western Australia Police)

Police are searching for answers—and possibly missing people—after an SOS signal was spotted recently in a remote part of Western Australia, the BBC reports. A helicopter spotted rocks spelling out SOS in an area called Swift Bay. According to the Sydney Morning Herald the rocks are 75 miles from the nearest Aboriginal community and more than 600 miles from the nearest city of note. In fact, it's so hard to get to the area where the SOS message was spotted that police had to use a helicopter to reach it for a search May 19, ABC reports

The search came up empty. Police found the apparent remains of a campsite but no "indication of recent human activity." "We've done a ground search and aerial search of the area and there are indications that there may have been someone camped there at one point in time, but it's just not clear how long ago that was," Sgt. Peter Reeves says. It may have been years since anyone was at the campsite. Police are continuing to investigate and trying to figure out if anyone has gone missing nearby. It's still possible the SOS message is a hoax. (More SOS stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X