He stopped for a break. His colleagues went ahead without him(why? Why would you leave someone behind?) He got disoriented. Drops a pin for help (aka asks for help). They tell him to hike back up then come down on the right trail.
Why he didn’t we don’t know. His colleagues didn’t call for a search party. They didn’t go after him. He had to try to get enough signal to do that himself. Where were they at?
If your colleague isn’t showing up in a reasonable amount of time wouldn’t you call someone to help look for him?
Yeah he’ll be pissed and probably look for a new job.