The frustrated family of a hiker who went missing more than one week ago have said they are upset more resources are not being drafted in to his rescue operation.
Hadi Nazari, 24, vanished after separating from his friends to take photos in the Snowy Mountains, in NSW, on December 26.
The two mates he was hiking with alerted authorities after Mr Nazari failed to returned from his detour near the Hannels Spur Trail at Geehi by nightfall.
They had left for the hike through Kosciuszko National Park four days earlier and the outing was only meant to last five days.
Now Mr Nazari’s family in Melbourne, where he is also from, have called on police to do more in an effort to find him.
His sister, Zahra Nazari, said she was especially frustrated that Victorian authorities had not been brought in to help in the operation on Friday.
Despite him going missing in NSW, Mr Nazari was last seen on an area of remote track roughly 21km from the Victorian border.
Riverina Police District Acting Superintendent Jill Gibson said more than 250 people were already involved in the rescue which NSW Police are leading.
Hadi Nazari, 24, went missing in the Snowy Mountains, in NSW, on December 26
More than 250 rescue workers are currently trying to locate him
Ms Nazari said her family was ‘pleading’ with police to funnel more resources into the search given the large area they are sifting through to find her brother.
‘Police say they have the resources they need [but] given how big the search area is, wouldn’t it be wise to get more people there,’ she told the ABC.
‘Today’s the ninth day [of the search]. We want more people, we want more resources. We just plead and request NSW Police to bring that into action.’
Ms Nazari said her family’s hope of finding her brother is declining every day that the search continues through.
‘I don’t want to lose him, I just want him to be alive, I want him to be found,’ she said.
Superintendent Gibson said in a statement that she had ‘some of the most experienced searchers’ in NSW involved with the rescue.
‘We have had some of the most experienced searchers in the state involved including the Police Rescue Unit LANDSAR operators, the State Emergency Services bush search and rescue operators and Volunteer Rescue Association Rescue Bush search and rescue operators and National Parks and Wildlife Service rangers,’ she said.
‘In addition, we’ve had aircraft from several agencies over the eight-day period.’
Mr Nazari’s family have said they are ‘pleading’ with police to increase the size of their rescue operation given the size of the area he became lost in
Riverina Police District Acting Superintendent Jill Gibson said her search will continue through the weekend and contains some of the state’s most experienced rescuers
The search will continue through the weekend as rescue teams are winched to difficult terrain in order to search deeper into the nature reserve.
‘This remains an active search and rescue and we are not giving up hope of finding him alive,’ Superintendent Gibson confirmed.
‘Our search crews are focusing on the creek lines and water sources, where we believe Hadi may be.’
Mr Nazari turned 24 on New Year’s eve while lost in the Snowy Mountains.
Hiking poles and rubbish which is believed to have been left by him in dense bushland near the Kosciuszko River, roughly 42km away from Geehi by track, were found by teams on the same day.
Following the discovery State Emergency Service Superintendent Matthew Price said the river area had become his new focus of the search.
‘We look at the topography of the area, and there’s lots of studies that have been done on lost person behaviour, and what different people of different ages and backgrounds and experience do when they are lost,’ Mr Price said.
‘NSW Police use that science and experience to align the search tactics that our guys implement on the ground for them.’
Mr Nazari became lost after separating from his two friends to take photos on his own
The two friends he was hiking with alerted authorities after Mr Nazari failed to returned from his detour near the Hannels Spur Trail at Geehi by nightfall
Mr Nazari, an experienced bushwalker, was last seen by friends about 2.30pm on Boxing Day, making a difficult descent down what is known as the Hannels Spur trail in Kosciuszko National Park.
Search and rescue specialist Paul Luckin, who has assisted police with the search, said that of the 105 searches he had joined in the past year, just three people had been found alive after long periods alone in the wilderness.
‘We don’t have many who are missing for an extended period and come out alive,’ he told AAP.
‘Ultimately, his survival is going to depend on finding drinkable water and probably staying at that water.’
Dr Luckin said the availability of water in the area where Mr Nazari went missing was scarce.
‘Whether you can find water or not depends on the terrain and how thick the vegetation is, it is well known that the vegetation in that particular area is very dense, very thick vegetation,’ he said.
‘There is some water (there), but accessing it is difficult.’
The Hannels Spur trail is regarded as one of Australia’s most challenging bushwalking trails, with an 1800m change in elevation.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted New South Wales and Victorian Police for comment.
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