A helicopter and trail bikes have been deployed in the search for a 73-year-old hiker who has been missing for more than 24 hours in dense scrub land on Fraser Island.
The woman became detached from a group of walkers along the Great Walk around 3pm on Thursday although her travelling companions did not raise the alarm until after dark, acting Patrol Inspector Brook Flood said.
When she failed to arrive at a designated location, the group, who are experienced hikers, retraced their steps in the hope of finding the woman before they alerted emergency services around 7pm.
The Great Walk stretches for more than 90km and can take around eight days to complete.
Ms Flood said the woman had sent a text message at about 7.30pm but had not made contact since.
“There was communication … last night, unfortunately her mobile phone is believed to be flat at this stage,” Ms Flood said.
She said the woman had no known medical conditions and the area where she was last seen was dense scrubland.
“She had a small amount of food and water,” she said.
Police searched until 10pm on Thursday and the restarted again at 6am on Friday.