UPDATE: A man who has been missing in the Gold Coast Hinterland for two days has been found with critical injuries.
Rory Lane disappeared after becoming separated from a friend while walking along the West Canungra Creek Circuit in the Lamington National Park around 4.45pm on Saturday.
Police, State Emergency Service volunteers, QFES, PolAir, and the Rescue chopper all launched a desperate search for the 26-year-old on Sunday but could not find any sign of him.
The search resumed at first light this morning and it was a member of the public who found Mr Lane beside a creek at the base of a cliff just before midday.
He’s understood to have critical injuries consistent with a fall, however, paramedics are still yet to assess the young man and confirm the exact details.
Senior Sergeant Mitchell Gray said he’s “extremely lucky” to have been found.
“The timeframe for survival, information that we received this morning, was that in the bush with current conditions and weather, he would have been ok until the end of Wednesday afternoon,” he said.
“Even though it’s been extremely cold and it wouldn’t have been a very pleasant place to be for the last two days, he’s certainly survived it.”
The man has been extricated from the dense bushland and rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
EARLIER: Police have launched a major search and rescue operation to locate a 26-year-old man missing in Lamington National Park.
Rory Lane was walking with a friend along the West Canungra Creek Circuit around 4.45pm on Saturday when the pair became separated, and he has not been seen or heard from since.
Search and rescue coordinators, with the assistance of PolAir, the Rescue 500 helicopter, SES and QFES conducted a large-scale search of the Lamington National Park on Sunday, but to no avail.
Mr Lane is described as Caucasian, approximately 175 centimetres tall, with dark brown hair and blue eyes and was last seen wearing a grey jumper and a backpack.
Police are appealing for anyone who visited the Lamington National Park over the weekend, specifically anyone who walked the West Canungra Creek Circuit and may have seen Rory, to come forward.
Anyone with any information about Rory’s whereabouts is also urged to contact police.
Search efforts will continue this morning.
