Police abseilers searched down cliffs today in the hunt for a British man missing for eight days in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
Computer engineer Gary Tweddle, 23, of Reading, had been drinking with friends before going for a late-night walk in bushland.
The rugged terrain has narrow tracks along on the edge of steep drops. He spent 17 minutes on his mobile trying to explain where he was to four colleagues listening on speaker phone before contact was lost.
Hours later police launched one of the largest searches conducted there with help from 700 volunteers.
Mr Tweddle, an experienced hiker, lives with his girlfriend Anika Haigh in a flat in the Sydney harbourside suburb of Cremorne.
His father David flew from Britain to join the search. Mr Tweddle was last seen just after midnight on Monday waving at a car 400 yards from the Fairmont Resort in Leura, where he had been attending a conference, but the driver did not stop.
His sister Amy posted on Facebook: “Please keep hoping and praying to help our Gary stay strong.”
Detective Inspector Mick Bostock said: “There are cliffs and under-cliffs, so we’ve got vertical rescue teams abseiling down. They are checking rock ledges and down the base of trees.
“With Gary, the best case scenario is that he’s been injured, a misadventure close to the resort.” Four years ago British backpacker Jamie Neale was found alive after being lost for 12 days in the Blue Mountains.
