A search for a hiker in Tasmania’s Mount Field National Park who has not been heard from since Sunday is underway amid icy wind gusts and deep snow.
Daryl Fong, 30, had been described as an “avid photographer” who went on a day hike to take photos in the national park, which is a bit over an hour’s drive north-west of Hobart.
At 3am on Sunday, Mr Fong contacted a friend to say he would seek shelter and camp in the park overnight. He has not been heard from since.
Snowy conditions at Mount Field National Park last month. (ABC News: Jano Gibson)
Police said they were notified on Monday afternoon that Mr Fong had not returned from the park, and rescue crews and a rescue helicopter were deployed that afternoon.
The search effort has focused on the Tarn Shelf, a 15-kilometre loop walk, where police said “knee to waist-high snow” was “being encountered in some areas”.
Tasmania Police Inspector Luke Horne said Mr Fong planned to complete the grade 4 day walk on Saturday, after camping in his car at Lake Dobson car park on Friday night.
Mount Field National Park is about a 75-minute drive from Hobart. (ABC News: Susan Oong)
“There is limited phone reception up in that area, but he managed to get a message out to his flatmate to say that the weather had come in quite poorly, and that he had to camp overnight,” Inspector Horne said.
“We don’t believe that Daryl had any camping equipment or shelter with him at the time.
“We don’t believe that he’d taken much, if any, food and water with him. He wasn’t planning to be out any more than just that day.”
Luke Horne from Tasmania Police (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
Police also believe Mr Fong has a personal locator beacon (PLB) with him, but it has not been activated.
“We don’t know why Daryl hasn’t used his personal location beacon or PLB,” Inspector Horne said.
“It may be that he’s tucked himself up in some shelter somewhere and doesn’t think that he needs to activate that beacon, and hopefully, if that’s the case, we can find him soon and assist him out of the area that he’s in.
“It could also be that Daryl’s injured himself and he’s unable to use that. So, we need to be in the area and searching for him actively.”
Police said Mr Fong was known to have “some experience” in the outdoors and may have had some suitable equipment and clothing.
Conditions ‘very difficult’ for search teams
Approximately 30 rescue personnel have been involved in Tuesday’s search.
Inspector Horne said the challenging conditions have made it difficult for search teams to “progress quickly”.
“It makes it very difficult for the Westpac rescue helicopter to get up and into the areas that we need it to get to, to look for Daryl,” he said.
“There are four separate rescue parties currently on foot in the area of the Tarn.
There are a number of hiking cabins in the national park. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
“They’re making their way through, but obviously, with all of their equipment and the snow being between knee and waist deep, plus the heavy rock terrain, it makes it very difficult for them to get anywhere quickly.
“Our priority remains to locate Daryl and return him safely to his family.
“Obviously, the weather conditions, the time involved and the lack of shelter mean that his chances of survival diminish greatly over an extended period of time, so the sooner that we can find him, the better our chance of him surviving.”
Mount Field National Park is popular with both tourists and locals. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
Police are urging anyone who was in the Mount Field National Park area and noticed Mr Fong over the weekend to contact police.
“We’re asking anyone who may have had some social media footage or photographs of the area who believes they’ve seen a single male walking, or they’ve noticed Daryl’s car in the car park, which is a white Subaru Outback, to contact Tasmania police on 131 444,” Inspector Horne said.
“Any information that they have might be vital to us locating Daryl, and we would ask that they come forward with that information.”
Search and rescue responses on the up
The search for Mr Fong comes in the wake of multiple incidents across Tasmania’s national parks and bushland areas.
Since June, police search and rescue teams have responded to more than 96 requests for assistance.
Crews continue to search for a 76-year-old man who went missing in dense bushland in Tasmania’s north about a week ago.
A tourist from China died at the Cradle Mountain National Park in September after her group became overwhelmed by extreme weather conditions.
In July, a family of six had to be rescued from Mount Field due to heavy snowfall.
A couple walking the Overland Track were rescued earlier this month after they began to suffer from mild hypothermia.
Police said they had been involved in more than 450 jobs this year, an increase of about 30 per cent on last year.