He Went Into the Desert, Didn't Expect to Be Followed

In 1999, American Robert Bogucki walked—deliberately—into Australia's Great Sandy Desert for what he called a spiritual quest. "The initial intention was to just find a place in the middle of the desert, just to sit for a week and fast … and contemplate the universe," he tells Erin Parke for Australia's ABC. What he didn't expect would that there would be a massive search for him involving local police, Aboriginal trackers, and eventually a US special response team led by a cigar-chomping ex-military man. He was ultimately found 43 days after he entered, emaciated but, despite all odds, alive.

The saga became a flashpoint for debate—was Bogucki seeking enlightenment or simply reckless? He later apologized for unwittingly drawing resources and attention, saying he never meant to be found or rescued. The search was launched after tourists came upon his abandoned bicycle and clothing and footprints leading into the desert, "one of the most dangerous landscapes in Australia," writes Parke. "A wide expanse of sand crawling with snakes, spiders and scorpions."

Police used a receipt left in the clothing to determine the belongings belonged to Bogucki, who had entered the country eight months prior on a tourist visa from Alaska. After a 4-week search that involved conditions so fierce "we were damaging vehicles at a rapid rate," per a police officer who was involved, the search was called off. But then an American search team, hired by Bogucki's parents, arrived, believing their mission was to retrieve a body. Bogucki shocked them all. (Read the full story here.)