Laois Civil Defence was called out twice by Gardai in the last few weeks to search for missing people in the Slieve Bloom mountains.

On the first occasion the search was stood down before it had commenced as the missing person was located.

The second incident occurred about two weeks later. A hill-walker was stranded in conditions of poor visibility due to a heavy fog and nightfall. The person was in mobile phone contact with Gardai throughout but unsure of his exact location. Once daylight broke, he was located within 30 minutes of the commencement of the search and found to be safe and well.

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