Frederich Mueller and his wife were reported missing since Thursday morning near Al-Eshash area, 160 kilometers north of Madinah city. The landscape in the area is made up of large black lava fields. The couple lost their way when their GPS device stopped functioning after passing through the village of Hanakiah. The visitors who were heading for Madain Saleh discovered the right road with the help of local residents.
Police in Hail and Madinah started searching for the missing tourists on Thursday after their friend in Riyadh reported them missing to police after they failed to respond to telephone calls.
“Police and Civil Defense in Hanakiah scoured (the area) for the two German tourists in a helicopter and found them in the desert in Khaybar governorate. A medical team checked them and found them to be in good health. The police then helped them continue their journey to Al-Ola,” Police spokesman of Madinah Brig. Mohsen Al-Raddadi said in a press statement on Friday.
The friend in Riyadh told police they were driving a Land Cruiser and planned to pass through Riyadh and Hail before reaching Al-Ola. He feared that they might have lost their way in a desert in Al-Murir, the source said. A shepherd told police that he had seen a German tourist driving a Land Cruiser at sunset on Thursday.
Although there are many tourist sites in Madinah province, particularly in Al-Ola, Khaybar and Mahd Al-Dhahab, most road signs are in Arabic making it hard for non-Arabic speaking tourists to navigate the region.
— With input from Yousuf Muhammad in Madinah.