Posted: 2024-12-09 06:22:30

Separate searches for a missing teenager and a hiker are continuing on the New South Wales North Coast.

The quiet surf village of Emerald Beach has been the focus of a major search for resident Jacob Partridge, 17, who was last seen on the beach on Friday at 11pm.

A young man with long dark hair flowing from beneath a bucket hat stands in a house.

Police say they are doing everything they can to bring Jacob home. (Supplied: NSW Police)

SES crews were out on quad bikes and on foot on Monday in bushland and sand dunes and a Police Marine Command rescue boat patrolled close to the shore.

Polair, RFS helicopters and Surf Life Saving NSW drones added an aerial view, but so far no sign of Jacob has been detected.

A uniformed policeman with a solemn expression on his face stands in a car park near a beach.

Acting Inspector Nick Dixon says Jacob's disappearance is out of character. (ABC Coffs Coast: Charles Rushforth)

Coffs-Clarence Police Acting Inspector Nick Dixon said the plan was to continue searching for until last light on Monday and review operations on Tuesday.

"We are concentrating on a number of possibilities with regards to Jacob and we are concentrating on bringing Jacob home to his family, supporting the family and, indeed, the community," he said.

Kim Satchell was among members of the Emerald Beach community who turned out to help on the weekend.

"On Saturday afternoon people came out to see what they could do, walking around the headlands and through the bush," he said.

"People were really concerned about the boy's welfare and now we are really concerned about the family."

A uniformed policewoman speaks with a man holding a laptop. They are on the edge of a beach.

Surf Life Saving drones have been deployed in the search for Jacob. (ABC Coffs Coast: Charles Rushforth)

Keryl Michener said the response showed how tight-knit the community was.

"I don't personally know the family, but nearly everybody I know seems to know them or has a child that knows the young fellow," she said.

"So you just hope and pray for a miracle."

A bald man with a light beard stands outdoors, wearing a pair of sunglasses.

Csaba Varga, 54, has not been heard from since Saturday. (Supplied: NSW Police)

Meanwhile about 30 rescue personnel are searching bushland at Wollumbin/Mount Warning, 265 kilometres north of Emerald Beach, for a hiker missing since Saturday.

NSW Volunteer Rescue said 54-year-old Csaba Varga contacted a friend late that day to say he was lost.

Mr Varga told his friend to contact authorities if he had not returned by Sunday morning.

The search is focused on a steep, overgrown track leading to the summit of the mountain, which has been closed to the public since 2020.

The Wollumbin summit is sacred to the Bundjalung people and was declared an Aboriginal Place in 2014.

Emergency service vehicles and a group of police officers on a road in a forest.

Emergency services at the base of Wollumbin (Mount Warning).  (ABC North Coast: Hannah Ross)

NSW Volunteer Rescue Association northern regional operations manager Paul Cowles said the terrain was dangerous.

"The whole area can be quite treacherous," he said.

"If you veer off the main track there's sudden cliffs, there's heavy bush, there's unstable areas.

"We are talking about an extinct volcano, so anywhere where there is a rocky climb there is always the potential for somebody to have a fall."

A laptop displaying a map sits on a table alongside walkie-talkies and a notepad.

The command and communications post at Wollumbin. (Supplied: Tweed District Volunteer Rescue Squad)

Mr Cowles said the man was thought to be an experienced hiker.

Police, paramedics and SES and RFS volunteers are also involved in the search, were suspended on Monday evening and will resume on Tuesday if Mr Varga is still missing.

He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 180-185 cm tall and of medium build with grey hair, facial hair and blue eyes.

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