Search for missing Alice Springs man Gach Top in Central Australia suspended by police
The 26-year-old man went missing on Monday and his car was found abandoned 14.5 kilometres west of John Flynn's Grave Historical Reserve.
Police have described Mr Top as a 6-foot-tall man of Sudanese appearance with a lean build and short curly hair.
NT Police Acting Sergeant Christopher Grotherr said the earlier helicopter search had been scaled back on Saturday in favour of drones, but the number of on-ground personnel searching the rugged terrain remained the same until 6pm that evening.
He said Mr Top's family had been kept updated throughout the search and were now aware it had been suspended.
"Extensive search efforts, coordinated by the NT Police Force's Search and Rescue Section, were suspended late this afternoon following a fifth day of searching an area about 21 kilometres west of Alice Springs," NT Police said.
"The operation at its peak involved more than 50 personnel from NT Police, NT Emergency Services, NT Fire and Rescue Service, and Parks and Wildlife NT."
The matter has now been handed to the NT Police Southern Crime Division for further investigation.
Larapinta Trail Trek Support owner Zak Dragic, who has been rescuing hikers along the track for a decade, assisted police on Saturday by navigating his drone over the hilly, grassy terrain surrounding Larapinta Drive — close to the ground and into areas helicopters couldn't access.
Sudanese community leader Chuol Yat, a close friend of Mr Top's family, described the young man's disappearance as out of character.
"I couldn't believe it when I heard that he was wandering, nowhere to be found," he said.
"From the way people are talking to me about him, people are very sad, people are disappointed, people are feeling very devastated."
Another friend of the family, Elia Mabok, had also joined search efforts earlier.
Mr Mabok, a member of the local Sudanese community, brought along his dog David Kong to assist.
"We are a small community here in Alice Springs, and we all work with and know each other," he said.
Acting Sergeant Grotherr said police had also received "valuable" input from locals in the surrounding Indigenous communities and had collaborated with Aboriginal liaison officers through the search.
"They have been out here conducting searches for us and providing us some pretty valuable advice in where we might need to search," he said.
Acting Sergeant Grotherr thanked the search teams for their efforts, but said "unfortunately, it hasn't produced the result we hoped for".
Police are continuing to call for any witnesses who have information from the vicinity of Larapinta Drive, Standley Chasm, or Simpsons Gap.
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