If you're in need of inspiration to go easy on the drinks this weekend, take note: a man in Turkey was reported missing after a late-night drinking session with friends and accidentally joined his own search party.
Beyhan Mutlu, a construction worker in his 50s, had been drinking with friends in Bursa province in northern Turkey on Tuesday night when he wandered into a forest at around 02:00 am in the morning. Speaking to Turkish newspaper Sabah, he explained that he walked back to the friend’s villa where he was staying. Confused about Mutlu’s whereabouts, however, a friend reported him missing.
After a few hours’ sleep, Mutlu woke up at about 5am and saw a crowd scouting around the area.
“I thought there was an accident on the road. I went with them. I saw the teams are looking for a missing person. I also participated in the search efforts. Some time has passed,” he explained.
“They started calling my name 'Beyhan Mutlu'. I said, 'Oh, that's me.’”
“They looked at my ID. They said, 'You are the missing person'. I've been a victim of friends, you see. Like a joke... I was lost, I searched for myself.”
An interview (in Turkish) with the man himself can be seen below.
Mutlu apologized to the search party and offered to take them for pastries the next morning. Unfortunately, they declined the offer.
Looking back on his ordeal, Mutlu is surprised his escapade has gained international attention, although it doesn’t appear that he’ll over-indulge in his 15 minutes of fame.
"I was very surprised. Something like this suddenly happened to us. There has never been such an event in my life,” he told Sabah TV. "After the incident, I always worked. I did not read any news."
"Greetings to the whole world," he remarked, before adding: "I'm on the agenda of the world, but I don't care about the world."
