Campfire, items belonging to bushwalker missing nearly two weeks found in NSW national park

Rescue crews have made a major breakthrough in the search for an experienced hiker who’s been missing for nearly two weeks.

A campfire area and items confirmed to belong to a bushwalker missing for nearly two weeks in a NSW national park have been found as crews remain hopeful the experienced hiker is still alive.

Hadi Nazari was last seen by his friends about 2.30pm on December 26.

The 23-year-old was hiking with friends in the Kosciuszko National Park and had been descending the Hannels Spur trail between Khancoban and Thredbo.

He was expected to meet his friends at the Geehi campground but failed to arrive.

Hadi Nazari has been missing since December 26 when he failed to return to a campground to meet his friends. Picture: Supplied

Mr Nazari’s sister Zahra said he’d told his friend he was going to “stay back and take some photographs”; however, he didn’t return to the campsite, 9 News reported.

His friends began to look for him and police were alerted about 8.45pm on Boxing Day.

Officers, assisted by the SES, began to search for Mr Nazari on foot and with vehicles, with a multi-agency search launched the next day with the assistance of Goulburn Police Rescue, National Parks and Wildlife Service, SES, NSW Ambulance, VRA and Polair.

Up to 300 people have been involved in the search so far, with rubbish and hiking poles believed to belong to Mr Nazari found near the Kosciuszko River late on New Year’s Eve.

In a major development, Riverina Police District commander Superintendent Andrew Spliet on Tuesday confirmed a campfire area and items belonging to Mr Nazari were found on Sunday, with the area now a major focus for emergency services.

“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.”

The search has been focused around waterways. Picture: NSW Police

PolAir has been involved in the search. Picture: NSW Police

Superintendent Spliet confirmed 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” up 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.”

The 23-year-old is an experienced hiker. Picture: Supplied

Superintendent Spliet said crews were “very hopeful” Mr Nazari was still alive and confirmed the 23-year-old had a tent, sleeping bag and small bottle of water with him when he went missing.

“If you have access to water, it is my understanding, given what we have been told by the experts who look after the survivability report for us, we are still hopeful,” he said.

“He has access to water, that is the reasons why we are still out here and actively engaged. “All of our partner agencies assisting us have people out there who are keen to get a resolution for the families.”

A NSW Police spokesperson earlier confirmed specialist operators with winching capabilities were brought in to assist in the rescue as of January 3 to co-ordinate a search in denser bushland for longer periods of time.

Up to 300 people have been involved in the search for Mr Nazari. Picture: NSW Police

Superintendent Spliet said crews were ‘very hopeful’ Mr Nazari was still alive. Picture: NSW Police

Riverina Police District Acting Superintendent Jill Gibson earlier said hope had not been lost, with the search focused on areas around creek lines and water sources.

“We are continuing the search for Hadi, this remains an active search and rescue and we are not giving up hope of finding him alive,” Superintendent Gibson said.

“To date we have utilised over 250 staff to search this difficult terrain.

“The location comprises of incredibly dense bushland and challenging conditions on the ground, with the bushland so dense that searchers – in some parts – can’t see their feet.

“We know Hadi is an experienced bushwalker, so we will continue through the weekend searching to try to locate him.”

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 Campfire, items belonging to bushwalker missing nearly two weeks found in NSW national park