70 scour nature reserves for hiker missing since Friday
A search party of more than 70 people is scouring Singapore's parks and nature areas in search of Mr Steward Lee, 27, an avid hiker who went missing on February 17. Photo credit: Lee Yunqin
SINGAPORE — The search in several nature reserves for a missing Singaporean hiker ended on Sunday (Feb 19) with efforts coming to naught.
A group of more than 70, including police officers, park rangers and volunteers, had combed areas such as the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, the rail corridor, Zhenghua Park as well as the Dairy Farm and Singapore quarry area, to look for Mr Steward Lee, 27.
The search began at 9am and ended at 1pm, but he was nowhere to be found.
Mr Lee, an avid hiker, has been missing since Friday afternoon, according to his elder sister Lee Yunqin, who had posted details about her brother on Facebook to get volunteers to help with Sunday’s search efforts.
The locations of the search were places Mr Lee, who is in between jobs, would usually go to when he was hiking almost daily, said Ms Lee. This is the first time he has gone missing.
The bespectacled Mr Lee was last seen at 2pm on Friday at Block 407 Fajar Road in Bukit Panjang, where the family lives. He was wearing a plain black short-sleeved T-shirt and blue jeans with slippers.
The police put up a missing person notice on Saturday afternoon, after a police report was filed the night before.
Ms Lee told TODAY a witness had also seen her brother on Friday around 2.20pm, in Saujana Road, a five-minute walk from home. Since then, there have been no other witnesses, she added.
Since Friday night, around 10 to 15 friends and family members have been searching “everywhere in Bukit Panjang”, she said.
Appealing to those who had seen her brother to come forward with information, the 29-year-old told TODAY that the family was “very worried” but “we’re doing our best to find him”.
By press time, her Facebook appeal about her brother had been shared close to 1,000 times, with many users offering words of encouragement and hope that he would be found soon.
Ms Lee added that the family was unsure what would happen next, given that “we’re not sure where he is, but we’re trying to carry on (searching).”
Police searches are still ongoing. Anyone with information is requested to call the Police hotline (1800-255-0000) or submit information online using its iWitness portal.
