Three Months On, Police Intensify Search for Missing Hiker on Western Australia Trail

It has been three months since a young Victorian man vanished while hiking one of Western Australia’s most well-known trails, and police say time is running out. Samuel Whitsed, 27, was last seen on February 18 near the Bibbulmun Track, just outside Perth. He was carrying camping gear, heading toward the trail from Brookton Highway near Albany Highway. Since then, authorities have grown increasingly worried. In late April, search teams found a tent believed to be his near Canning Hut and the Brookton Campsite. But despite a nine-day sweep of dense bushland—with officers, rangers, and volunteers pushing through thick scrub and rough terrain—there has been no sign of him. Footage released Saturday shows the painstaking effort to comb the area. Whitsed is described as 170 to 180 centimeters tall, with a slim to medium build, short brown hair, a beard, and a mustache. He was last seen wearing a red T-shirt or light-colored jumper, black trousers, and slides. Anyone with information is urged to contact WA police. For now, the search continues, and the question lingers: what happened to Samuel Whitsed on the trail?