Question about good, old-fashioned telephones like they used to be!

I'm trying to call an older person who isn't picking up. It just rings and rings at my end. She told me recently that she sometimes pulls her phone jack out of the wall to avoid marketing calls. If that were the case, would I still be hearing a ringtone at my end, or would it beep 'engaged'?
I can't just drop by at the person's home as she lives in another country.

Does anyone remember the idiosyncracies of non-mobile phones? It would be great if someone could help!