At 19:40, Junior Lieutenant Mikami ran into the official residence of regiment officers and informed them that they had found Corporal Goto near Otakidaira, all of the marching troop seem to be dead, and that about the half of 60 people of the rescue team had become incapacitated due to frostbite.
19時40分、三上少尉が連隊長官舎に駆け込み大滝平で後藤伍長を発見したことと雪中行軍が「全滅の模様」であること、2時間の捜索で「救助隊60余名中、約半数が凍傷で行動不可」となったことを知らせた。