Petr Novotny and CNN reporter Will Ripley are searching Taiwan’s remote mountains for hikers who have gone missing.
These expeditions target areas where official search efforts have been abandoned. The missions aim to provide answers and closure to families who have spent years wondering the fate of their loved ones.
Novotny, who is known as “Beast Runner,” operates in some of the most dangerous terrain in the region. The search efforts focus on remote mountain areas, including the Puli region, where the landscape is often treacherous.
Novotny arrived in Taiwan in 2012 [1]. Since then, he has developed the expertise required to navigate the island's rugged interior. The current efforts reported in July 2026 [2] highlight the ongoing risk associated with Taiwan's high-altitude trails.
Many of the missing persons were lost in areas where dense vegetation, and steep cliffs, make traditional search and rescue operations difficult. Novotny specializes in reaching these inaccessible zones after formal government searches have ceased.
While some reports have confused these efforts with searches in other regions, the primary focus of this mission remains the mountains of Taiwan. The team navigates these wilderness areas to locate remains or equipment that may indicate where a hiker disappeared.
“Searching Taiwan’s dangerous, remote mountains for hikers who have gone missing”
The work of independent searchers like Novotny fills a critical gap in public safety infrastructure. When official government resources are exhausted or deemed too risky, the reliance on specialized individuals becomes the only path toward closure for grieving families in high-risk wilderness areas.
