A search is under way in the remote central Australian outback for a Victorian man who disappeared on a hike.
Alistair Thomson, 64, started walking alone on May 13 on the Larapinta Trail about 240 kilometres west of Alice Springs. He was last heard from via a text message on Tuesday, May 21.
Alistair Thomson went missing on the Larapinta Trail near Alice Springs.
He was travelling east and was expected to arrive at Hugh Gorge – about 70 kilometres west of Alice Springs – on May 22.
On Wednesday morning, Northern Territory police launched a search for him – more than a week after his last known contact with family.
Rangers on foot and motorcycles, along with a drone and a helicopter, have helped scour the vast West MacDonnell Ranges. One of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Bombardier Challenger jets flew from Cairns to help with the search on Wednesday night.
Search co-ordinator acting Sergeant Christopher Grotherr said authorities had received reports on Wednesday that Thomson had been spotted closer to Alice Springs than previously thought. However, on Thursday he said rescuers had shifted their focus away from the first section of the trail near the town.
“We haven’t entirely discounted it,” Grotherr said on ABC radio. “That will still be the subject of search tasks throughout the course of [Thursday]. However, we will be shifting our intensity over to sections six, five and four.”
The search co-ordinator said those parts further west along the Larapinta Trail had more rugged terrain. He described Thomson as an experienced hiker who had adequate food and water, but said he was concerned about his welfare.
“The issue that we have [on Thursday] is that the search conditions are aggravated by weather,” Grotherr said.
On Thursday, the Bureau of Meteorology forecast up to 35 millimetres of rain for Alice Springs with a top temperature of 18 degrees, forcing the search team’s helicopter to be grounded.
Simpsons Gap, along the Larapinta Trail, as viewed from a helicopter looking for a missing Victorian hiker.
Grotherr said the missing hiker’s family were “pretty distraught at this stage”.
“As time gets on, and with the weather going south today, obviously we’ve got concerns for his welfare in that he hasn’t reached out in some time,” he said.
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