Gage WILSON
Gage WILSON
Gage Wilson has not been seen since his crashed car was found in bushland in northern New South Wales more than a month ago, but his sister is hopeful he is still alive.
"We're still holding hope, we're trying to stay positive every day," she said.
Niki Manidakis has been coordinating a community-led search around Wilsons Creek for her brother, who lives in nearby Mullumbimby.
The 31-year-old man was last seen on Saturday, May 18 about 5am on Hakea Court in Mullumbimby.
A short time later, his car was found abandoned on Koonyum Range Road at Wilsons Creek. It had crashed into a tree, but there was no sign of Mr Wilson.
The alarm was raised when his family could not contact him.
Police conducted a large scale search for Mr Wilson but were unable to find any clues as to where he had gone.
Ten days later police suspended the search, but Ms Manidakis continued a coordinated community search in the weeks that followed.
"Sometimes it's very hopeful one day and then the next day is quite disheartening, so it's a little bit of a rollercoaster going through something like this," she said.
"You don't expect it to happen to your family."
Each weekend, Mr Wilson's family and friends have continued to search for him on foot and from the air using drones.
The search is happening in an area that had been flagged for a hazard reduction burn by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and where Ms Manidakis thinks her brother may be hiding.
"It's extremely concerning because the area they want to burn is the exact area where we have recently found clothes and barefoot footprints," she said.
Ms Manidakis said the clothing was the same size her brother wears and she believes the footprints could be his because he was not believed to be wearing shoes when he went missing.
A NPWS spokesperson said in a statement that hazard reduction burn operations would not be undertaken in the Koonyum Range area until clearance was received from NSW Police.
NPWS said it was in close communication with police to ensure any planned operations did not pose a risk to anyone's safety or interfere with ongoing search efforts.
The community line search of the area will be undertaken by volunteers.
"It's really crucial that we approach the task of searching in those areas as soon as possible so no evidence is lost," Ms Manidakis said.