Christos pittas missing at Big Muster Drive Dinner Plain Mount Hotham
A loved grandfather has been missing for four nights in the freezing alpine area of Victoria.
More than 100 people spent the night looking for a loved grandfather who went missing in Victoria's alpine region on Friday. He spent his fourth night in freezing weather.
The desperate search for Christos is losing hope. The last time anyone saw him was at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, when he was on Big Muster Drive in Dinner Plain, north of Melbourne.
Last night, the temperature dropped to -3C and there were gusts of wind up to 70km/h in the area. The weather is expected to get worse today, and snow is on the way.
This morning, about 150 people are searching the area for signs of him.
The police spent the night driving around with infrared sensors to try to find any heat from a body. They also set up two beaming lights.
The hope was that if Christo was still alive and out there, the lights would help him find his way home.
The disappearance of a "kind" grandfather has devastated his family.
His family said in a statement yesterday that he is "kind and loving" and likes nature and new experiences.
The family said, "It breaks our hearts to know that our dad Christo is still missing in Mount Hotham's high country."
"He has four beautiful granddaughters, and we're sure he'd love to see them again."
His kids, wife, family, friends, and everyone else who knows him love him."
The family said thank you to the people in the area, the police, and everyone else who helped with the search.
The family said, "We are all praying that his strong and resilient nature will bring him back to us."
Lots of local people join the search
Yesterday, people quit their jobs to help the desperate search for the 70-year-old man from Melbourne.
Christo, who lives in Melbourne's Greensborough, went for a walk to see emus that were said to be in the area, but he hasn't been seen since.
We hope that he found a place to stay at one of the 400 places to stay in the area.
Over the weekend and into Monday morning, emergency services and volunteers on horseback and on foot looked for the person.
Inspector Paul Hargreaves told the media yesterday that things were changing quickly.
"It will be below freezing tonight, and we expect snow flurries tomorrow, which is a worry for us," he said.
Police are sending out texts to ask people to be on the lookout for Christos as the search enters its third night. @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/F7W5AdQriU
— Elisabeth Moss (@Elisabeth_Moss9) May 15, 2022
"We are doing everything we can to find him, hoping that it will work."
Hargreaves said that Christo's wife called the police around 6 p.m. Friday when he didn't come home.
He said, "She was worried that something might have happened."
"He doesn't know the area very well, but he was just walking on a local path called the Mountain Track, so we think that's where he went."
We think he may have had an accident or something bad happen to him. He may have gotten lost, but we don't know for sure."
We know we don't have much time, and the weather up there can be very dangerous.
"We plan for the worst and hope for the best."
