The search for a 24-year-old hiker missing in Kosciuszko national park since Boxing Day has entered its sixth day, with the man’s sister expressing fears about potential threats to his safety.
Hadi Nazari, an experienced hiker whose birthday was on Tuesday, has not been seen since friends saw him descending the Hannels Spur Trail at Geehi, between Khancoban and Thredbo, on Thursday.
When he did not arrive at the Geehi campground as expected, his two friends – aged 23 and 24 – began searching for him.
Acting Supt Jillian Gibson said the area being searched was some “of the most rugged terrain in New South Wales”.
“It’s very steep, it’s very vegetated and it’s quite remote.
“At this point we’ve had no indications of where he is. It is dense bushland with high altitude and scaling it is very difficult.”
Gibson said heat was also an issue, but Nazari was “well resourced” and had likely “just got separated” from his friends.
Specially trained volunteer bushwalkers from the VRA and State Emergency Service have been assisting.
Some of those expert hikers had been airlifted into rugged and remote areas to increase the capability of searching those areas, Gibson said.
Police said further assets have been deployed, including a helicopter with infra-red capabilities to try to locate Nazari, but have so far been unsuccessful.
Zahra Nazari, the missing man’s sister, told the Nine network’s Today Show that “not seeing him for so many days [and] not able to talk to him for so many days” was the “biggest trauma” of her life.
“It’s a remote area,” she said. “There might be other insects, or [there] could be animals as well, which is a threat to him.
“[I] just want to go outside and scream, you know. I just look at his pictures all the time. I pray to God he comes back, he comes back soon.”
Nazari is described as being Asian in appearance with a slim build and is about 172cm tall. He was last seen wearing a grey, long-sleeved shirt, grey pants and carrying a blue backpack.
“While there are concerns for the man’s welfare, police have been told the man is an experienced hiker and is carrying camping equipment and wearing clothing suitable to the conditions,” NSW police said.
It comes after a hiker suffered a snake bite, dehydration and a rolled ankle while lost in the Snowy Mountains in October.
Lovisa Sjoberg, 48, was found after a six-day search. A local police commander said Sjoberg was “pretty fortunate to be alive”.
Anyone with information regarding Nazari was urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
