Panic was incited on an Icelandic tour of the volcanic canyon of Eldgjá when a member of an organized tour was reported missing.
According to the Iceland Review, a bus driver reported that one of her tour members was absent on Saturday when she failed to return to the bus.
The driver waited an hour before contacting police along with local search and rescue teams. Tour members were also quick to join the search and rescue efforts.
The reports say the search was called off early Sunday morning when the group discovered that the woman believed to be missing had been on the bus all along. In fact she had been one of the leaders of the search group.
The driver along with the other passengers had not recognized the woman because she had changed her clothes and cleaned up after the stop in Eldgjá before reentering the bus.
When questioned on the incident local police chief Sveinn Runarsson stated “The tourist apparently did not recognize the description of herself during the ill-fated search and had no idea that she was missing,”
The Icelandic tourism company who organized the event say that they have added this revision to their tour policies. “Smelly and soiled clothing must not be changed at any time during the tour….ever.”