“He had no energy left. He was sitting on the ground and barely able to speak,” she said.
According to the force, Wong has been taken to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in the same district for treatment.
The relative said the retiree was trapped in the woods, adding that he had fallen and slipped multiple times when he went missing.
“He had fallen to the floor, fainted and then regained consciousness. He claimed he had hallucinations,” she said.
As he had no food or water, she said: “He relied on wetting a tissue from a stream in order to suck up water to drink.”
A source familiar with the matter said that since retiring, Wong had enjoyed hiking over the past two months.
The insider said the retiree went missing on Monday afternoon while hiking and exploring a path in the Wun Yiu area of Tai Po near Tai Mo Shan Country Park.
“He had dropped his mobile phone while hiking. So he was unable to call for help when he lost his way,” he said.
The Post learned Wong suffered from thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder that can cause anaemia and leave patients susceptible to feeling fatigued.
Another source said Wong, who remained in hospital as of Wednesday afternoon, told officers he had not planned out Monday’s hiking route and only relied on a map on his mobile phone.
“When reaching a place called Swallow Rock [in Tai Mo Shan Country Park], he took a photo with his phone. Later, he realised his phone was missing and then attempted to leave but got lost,” the second insider said.
“He told police that he had spent the last two nights resting on a hillside and continued his hike during the day, hoping to find his way down.”
His family wrote in an online appeal posted on Tuesday that Wong was last seen at Tai Wo Sports Centre in Tai Po the day before.
According to his family, he left his wife around noon on Monday, with his son trying to call his mobile phone about two hours later and receiving no reply.
Emergency personnel, including police officers and firefighters, launched a search after his family made a report to police on Monday night.
The Hong Kong Guardians, a voluntary group dedicated to looking for missing hikers, also launched a search earlier that day.
Police said officers from the New Territories North regional missing people unit were following up on the case.
