How missing hiker left message for searchers
Missing hiker Hadi Nazari recorded a message telling rescuers he was drinking water and apologising for going missing, spurring them on to find him after 13 days. Read how he did it.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Missing hiker Hadi Nazari recorded a message on his own camera telling rescuers he was drinking water and apologising for going missing, spurring them on to find him after 13 days.
Nazari recorded his desperate message in another language - believed to have been an Afghan national - and then deliberately left his camera and camera bag on a remote hiking track.
Police sources said in the video Nazari said he had been drinking water, explained how he became lost and apologised for going missing.
When rescuers found it on January 5, survival experts were buoyed by the fact he had been drinking water and encouraged police to ramp up their search.
“That’s why you saw a massive push in these last few days,” one source said.
“The survival experts said because he had been drinking water and staying hydrated his chances of survival were still strong, but this is the best possible outcome.”
Nazari was found by hikers about 3.15pm on Wednesday, with dramatic vision showing the emotional moments soon after he was reunited with his loved ones.
Footage released by the SES shows Nazari and two other men hugging, with the rescued hiker patting the men on the back, and the trio talking to each other through tears.
Seperately on Wednesday afternoon, Riverina Police District Commander Superintendent Andrew Spliet explained how Mr Nazari had called out to hikers for help from dense bushland that day, bringing the mammoth search effort to a dramatic end.
He said the 23-year-old had told police the only food he had eaten in the time he had been lost was two muesli bars in a remote hut.
“My understanding is there was a group of hikers in the area, he’s called out to them, disclosed who he was and that he had been lost in the bush,” Supt Spliet said.
“Police at the scene spoke to him, he’s relayed he found hut up there in the mountains, there were two museli bars there he’s eaten and that’s pretty much all he’s had to consume over the past two weeks.”
A hiker missing in the Kosciuszko National Park for nearly two weeks has been found. More information on the NSW Police website: https://t.co/wjhwk1JsG7 pic.twitter.com/OmB9UwSO4W
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 8, 2025
Supt Spliet said Mr Nazari had been found 10km from the search effort command post near the national park’s Blue Lake.
Once found, the missing hiker was “reunited with his family” as emergency services checked him over.
Supt Spliet said Mr Nazari was in good spirits, “alert and able to speak” but “very thirsty”.
“Further details on where he’s been, how he’s actually looked after himself … police will speak to him hopefully (on Thursday) about his time out there in the bush and actually what’s happened,” he said.
“He’s obviously very happy to be rescued and safe, back and reunited with his family.
From all accounts, he’s in really good health.”
Supt Spliet said Mr Nazari had “covered a fair bit of ground” since he went missing on December 26, and had done “really well” to survive solo in the wilderness.
“That type of terrain is very very steep, thick bushland,” he said. “Obviously he’s a very fit individual, and he did have equipment to survive in the wilderness, which would have assisted him.”
“There’s a number of creeks and rivers that run around that area — it’s very important he had access to water.
He added: “We’ll find out more of those details when we speak to him, but our primary concern is making sure he is physically healthy.”
A hiker missing in the Kosciuszko National Park for nearly two weeks has been found. More information on the NSW Police website: https://t.co/wjhwk1JsG7 pic.twitter.com/OmB9UwSO4W
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 8, 2025
Supt Spliet said the people who found Mr Nazari were not involved in the search effort but were “just hikers in the area” who then raised the alarm after he told them who he was.
“Very lucky for the male, (he’s) very thankful he has come across them,” he said.
Upwards of 400 rescuers had helped in the search effort, including 50 on the ground searchers on Wednesday, and Supt Spliet said the conditions had proved challenging for the team of rescuers, with several injured during their efforts in the rough terrain.
“Among rescuers they had some minor cuts and abrasions, some sprains, but nothing very serious, but I can tell you their commitment to be out there in some of these conditions has just been amazing,” he said.
Mr Nazari’s family had been involved in the search effort, he said, with friends “out in the field with a GPS” and his father at the command post in recent days before the good news came in over the radio.
“We’ve spoken to his family, they’re very happy obviously they have their loved one returned to them and are very happy with the search response,” Supt Spliet said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns welcomed the news Mr Nazari had been found safe.
“This is amazing news and testament to our emergency services workers who never gave up,” Mr Minns said. “What a relief for the young man and his family.”
Snowy Monaro Mayor Chris Hanna praised the news the 23 year-old had been found as “great news”.
“It’s fantastic that our locals, police and SES crews have worked together to find this missing person, it shows what can happen when we all work together,” Mr Hanna said. “I’m glad he’s been found safe and well.”
Mr Hanna said the incident was a timely reminder of the dangers of hiking in the region.
“It would’ve been a big challenge for the gentleman who was lost, and scary for him, but it’s a reminder for everyone travelling in that area to keep post of where you are at all times, to keep safe and stay on the tracks,” he said.
NSW Monaro MP Steve Whan said local hikers with “expert knowledge” of the area had been assisting police and SES crews.
“It’s wonderful, obviously a wonderful outcome for the search, there’s been a really expert team of search and rescue on this, people who are familiar with the terrain, Mr Whan said.
“The terrain around the Hannels Spur area can be very difficult, it’s not a place you’d send someone with no hiking experience, but they’ve done an amazing job.”
Mr Whan urged all hikers in the area to carry an emergency locator beacon with them at all times.
“I don’t know how (Mr Nazari) survived but obviously he’s got great skills and determination ... he sounded like quite an experienced hiker who had prepared well, so my main advice for people hiking in the back country is to take a personal locator beacon and be well prepared for the conditions,” he said.
Eden-Monaro federal MP Kristy McBain also welcomed the news, thanking all searchers for their “sustained efforts”.
“This is an incredible result and a testament to the more than 300 people involved in the search,” she said.
“This is a stark reminder of the need to take precautions before setting off to explore our beautiful but remote country.”
On Tuesday, Supt Spliet said a campfire area and items belonging to Mr Nazari had been found on Sunday.
“We found a fire scene, a little campfire as well as a lighter and camera case and camera that belongs to Mr Nazari,” Superintendent Spliet said.
“We are making inquiries to try and determine how long ago that little campfire was lit and that will give us, if we can determine that, some type of timeline to when he was last in that specific area.”
Superintendent Spliet said the camera had images on it but wouldn’t elaborate out of respect for Mr Nazari’s family.
He said the campfire was located “some distance” over a mountain spur from where the rubbish and poles were previously found along Kosciuszko Creek.
“It is a fairly large area, so we are pretty confident he has covered a bit of ground,” Superintendent Spliet said.
“We are searching a lot of the waterways and so forth because it is very important if you are out in these conditions, in this area, that you have access to water.
“We are focusing on that as well as where the items have been located.
“We will continue with the search until we are content that we have covered every area that we possibly can.”
Mount Kosciuszko is Australia’s highest mountain and is surrounded by heavy vegetation, requiring specially trained VRA and SES volunteers and Australian Federal Police officers to be flown into the “rugged and remote” areas.
Originally published as How missing hiker left message for searchers
Join the conversation
Elvis fans all shook up at Central Station
Die-hard Elvis fans in glitzy jumpsuits, greasy hair wigs and kickin’ boots are headed for the annual Parkes Elvis festival event in honour of the beloved king of rock n’ roll.
Read more
‘His foot is all blisters, he can’t walk’: Hiker’s cousin reveals toll
The cousin of a hiker found after 13 days lost on Mount Kosciuszko says Hadi Nazari was good spirits and deeply grateful for those who never gave up on finding him — and a little sore.
Read more