CREWS resumed their search for missing 19-year-old German backpacker Arvid Stenzel at 8am yesterday, expanding the search area beyond the Lake Canobolas recreational park, where the man was last seen early on Sunday morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At lunchtime yesterday a police sniffer dog and its handler arrived from Dubbo to help comb the lake foreshore, while police divers from Sydney helped search the lake, paying particular attention to the footbridge above the spillway.
Mr Stenzel was last seen about 2am when he told friends, as they walked across the footbridge, that he felt like a swim.
The friends lost track of him, but presumed he was joking about swimming because the water was too cold.
Canobolas Local Area Command Inspector Dave Harvey said search crews from the State Emergency Service (SES) and Rural Fire Service (RFS) were also speaking to property owners near the lake and asking them to be vigilant.
“We really haven’t ruled anything out, we’re just exhausting all options,” he said.
Paramedics were also on standby in case the man was found injured.
Inspector Harvey said police would have a presence at the lake until Mr Stenzel was found.
Mr Stenzel’s friends alerted police about his disappearance at 4.15pm on Sunday after they failed to locate him.
On Sunday afternoon officers from the Canobolas Local Area Command coordinated a ground and air search involving SES and RFS volunteers.
They also conducted a search of the lake using boats from the police and SES.
The search was suspended at 12am Monday and resumed eight hours later.
Mr Stenzel’s family was contacted by police, however, it is not known if they are making plans to travel to Australia.
tracey.prisk@fairfaxmedia.com.au