Emergency crews are continuing to thoroughly search the Royal National Park for Aaron Payne, who went missing four days ago.
He has not been seen or heard from since he parked his vehicle on Beachcomber Avenue, Bundeena on October 20, and walked into bushland at the start of the Coast Track.
Sutherland Police, the Rural Fire Service and SES have teamed up in the large scale search for the 32-year-old.
Mr Payne is an itinerant hearing support teacher, working at Sylvania and Heathcote high schools. It is believed he may also be wearing hearing aids.
The experienced naturalist has a passion for the outdoors, having studied microbiology at university.
Shire RFS district manager superintendent Andrew Pinfold says weather conditions are ideal for the search, which he said could go on for much longer.
“The weather is suitable, we’ve got cloud cover and a bit of breeze but there’s no rain,” he said.
“There’s no duration of a search, it’s dependent on location and the National Park is huge. Searches can go on for weeks upon weeks.
“Since the start of the search we’ve had about 20-25 RFS personnel from Sutherland and Illawarra searching.
“There’s a massive SES and police presence. It’s another very good example of how emergency services can come together to work collaboratively for a common cause. We’re all hoping for a good outcome.”
Mr Payne is described as being of Caucasian appearance with a fair complexion, about 170cm tall, slim build, and short brown hair.
He was last seen wearing a navy-blue shirt, beige shorts, dark hiking boots, backpack and was equipped with a headtorch.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000.