Missing Canberra woman Kathleen Bautista has been described as a social butterfly with a big heart as emergency services ramp up their search, five days after the 19-year-old disappeared.
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Volunteers from the State Emergency Service joined ACT police in the search on Wednesday.
The search party is continuing to target bushland eight kilometres west of Black Mountain from the water and the air, where they are searching for Ms Bautista and her mobile phone, which last registered signals there.
The teenager's family has urged their daughter and sister to return home, pleading for anyone with information about her disappearance to come forward.
The Gordon resident was last seen leaving a friend's house in Chapman on Saturday.
She was driving a black Hyundai i30 bearing the registration number YHE47L.
Father Ronnie Bautista said his daughter was a "loving and generous person with a very big heart".
"She's funny and can make us laugh anytime," he told WIN television.
"She's smart, witty and an incredibly good friend."
Mr Bautista said the family was "not coping very well" but surrounded by supportive relatives and friends.
He urged anyone with any information about his daughter or her car to contact police.
Police have urged the community to check their dashcams and report any sightings of the teenager, while officers have door-knocked homes in Chapman for information.
"If you've seen her or the black Hyundai i30 she was driving last Saturday morning, please contact the police straight away, even if you're not sure. Any information at this point is helpful," he said.
"We're surrounded by family and friends who also miss and love Kat very, very much. Their support is helping us to be strong at this very difficult time."
Mother Rowena Bautista urged her daughter not to be scared of returning home.
"Kat, please come home, I just want to hug you," she said.
"I'm really, really worried about you. Please come home and don't be scared."
Boyfriend Sajana Abeygunawardena echoed a similar sentiment.
"We love you so, so much and we need you to be with your friends and family. Please come back," he said.
Breanna Toombs met Ms Bautista about seven years ago when the pair began playing soccer together for Brindabella.
She described Ms Bautista, who completed her schooling at St Clare's College and is studying teaching at the University of Canberra, as a caring "social butterfly".
"When I think of her, I think about her carefree nature and her loyalty to her loved ones," she said.
"She always knows how to have a good time and while shy at first, she is one of the most bubbly people I know.
"She was there to help me out in times of need, which is something I appreciate enormously."
While tertiary studies took Ms Bautista off the soccer field, she was a talented footballer.
"She was an amazing defender - so small and quick," Ms Toombs said.
"We moved to Weston Creek together a few years back and that's when I got to know her better. [Unfortunately she got] a few injuries along the way and I could see that once she started her teaching degree at UC she wanted to focus on that more than soccer so, that's why she stopped playing this year."
Ms Toombs said she remembered seeing beads and a cross hanging from the rear view mirror in Ms Bautista's car when they last travelled together.
She hoped her friend was "safe and well".
"She has so much support behind her," she said.
"Everyone misses her and loves her. At the end of the day, all that matters is that she is happy."
