The family of a Canadian hiker who went missing in the Snowy Mountains in May have left Australia, citing visa restrictions, after spending more than two months searching without success.
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Canadian student and army reservist Prabh Srawn was last seen on May 13, when he parked his rental car at Charlotte Pass and began a hike towards Australia’s highest peaks, hours before a blizzard hit the area.
NSW Police and the National Parks and Wildlife Service began a search for Mr Srawn a week later, but wound the search down at the beginning of June as winter set in.
Mr Srawn’s family, including sister Mandeep, cousin Rajveer, and his parents, decried the police decision to end the operation, and mounted a private search using local and national experts, hikers, and aerial support. Off-duty Canadian soldiers also joined the search.
By early July, the family had spent in excess of $50,000 of their own money looking for their lost son, and offered a $100,000 reward for his return, but had found no sign of him.
A cousin of the family, Dr Tej Sahota, said on Twitter on Friday the family had been forced to return to Canada due to “visa restrictions”.
“The family is only back because of visa restrictions ... they have not given up hope or the search for #PrabhSrawn,” he said on the social media network.
“Once visa issues are resolved and weather allows, several members plan to head back to Jindabyne and continue.
“Many of the hikers and rescue workers, upwards of 30, have indicated that once the winter passes, they will help out and rejoin the search.”
Dr Sahota said the family were hopeful NSW Police might officially “re-engage” the search “once the weather allows”.
He also said there were no plans for a memorial service for the lost hiker, and said the nightly public prayers held for Mr Srawn over the past two and a half months would no longer be held, as the family wanted to pray at home.
Mr Srawn’s family had retained hope throughout the search, and were buoyed by the discovery of lecture notes on winter survival, as well as receipts for food and a winter jacket in Mr Srawn’s car.
But Dr Sahota also told The Canberra Times early in July that it would take a miracle to find Mr Srawn alive.
"If I told you anything different I would be lying," he said.
"We're praying for a miracle but either way, we want something. Whether it's a body or if he is alive, we want something because we need closure.”
Dr Sahota thanked supporters on Twitter, and said the family vowed to “pay it forward” and would contribute their knowledge, equipment, and search and rescue contacts to any search efforts in the future.
“The family will definitely use its resources to help any family that may encounter something similar to this,” he said. “And simultaneously I pray, that God let no family know the pain of ‘something like this’.”
