By morning, the disappearance had become an organized search-and-rescue operation.
Rescue workers gathered at the trailhead with maps, radios, ropes, and medical equipment. Volunteers arrived from nearby communities. Experienced mountain guides offered to help navigate the more difficult terrain.
Trained search dogs were brought in.
The search teams divided the mountain into sections.
Some followed established hiking routes. Others descended into narrow ravines, investigated dry streambeds, and examined places where loose stones suggested a possible fall.
Helicopters scanned open slopes when weather and visibility permitted.
The teams searched for anything that might belong to Layan.
A shoe.
A torn piece of clothing.
A dropped water bottle.
A camera strap.
Even the smallest object could provide a clue.
But the mountains offered nothing.
On the second day, rescuers found several areas where the ground had recently shifted. They investigated each one carefully, looking for evidence that someone might have fallen through unstable rock.
