A search and rescue operation is under way near Mount Stuart in Queensland after an emergency alert was sent to triple zero from an Apple watch.
Police were notified of a crash impact in dense bushland surrounding the top of Mt Stuart, outside Townsville, via an automated alert on Friday but have been unable to find the source of the call for help.
State Emergency Service volunteers and police reached the site of the alert, which came from rugged countryside behind the Australian Defence Force Lavarack Barracks, just after midday on Saturday.
Checks of hikers and mountain bike riders were conducted in the area but all people were accounted for.
Aerial and surface surveillance footage of the area has also produced no leads.
Townsville duty officer acting Senior Sergeant Peter Bateman said police were treating the alert as an emergency and appealed to the public for assistance.
"Perhaps a colleague may have told you they'd set out on a remote adventure, or your watch may have come off when you were out that way - we've mobilised and are treating this as an emergency situation until proven otherwise," he said.
"If you were at Mt Stuart and surrounds yesterday, check your watch or device to ensure it hasn't inadvertently activated and contact us if it has."
Police are checking missing person reports and are in close contact with Apple, however the device was not registered.
