A major bushland search has been launched to try to find a man who disappeared nearly a month ago.
Joe Johnson was last seen on December 12 at a family gathering in the rural town of Pie Creek, in the Gympie region of Queensland about 100 kilometres north of Brisbane.
Combing through dense and isolated terrain in The Palms, police and State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers searched for any sign of the 28-year-old today.
Some officers scoured the ground while others were on ATVs, and the police dive squad and water police searched waterways.
“There’s lots of trees as you can see … logs and a fair few rocks. Steep terrain, it’s pretty heavy going,” Graeme Kahler, a volunteer searching on horseback, said.
Initial investigations indicate Johnson left the family event in Pie Creek on the night of December 12 in a white Mitsubishi ute.
It’s thought the vehicle was stolen from the nearby suburb of Tandur that morning, around 8am.
On December 27 the abandoned ute was discovered, but there was no trace of Johnson. He’s not been seen or heard from.
“He could very well be maintaining himself in this environment,” Inspector Brad Inskip said today.
“It’s my understanding Joe’s had a bit of experience with camping and spent time in the bush,” he added.
He is described as Caucasian in appearance, approximately 180cm tall with a very slim build, short brown hair, hazel eyes, and a distinctive tattoo on the right-hand-side of his neck.
The search will resume tomorrow.
