Volunteer group formed after Celine Cremer result plans third search

It was the first good news Sue Ngan Wu had received in months.

Late one evening in May, she opened a message from a group set up to search for people in Tasmania's wilderness.

They were planning to look for her missing brother.

"I was pretty elated to hear it," Ms Ngan Wu said.

"It was just a bit of a breakthrough for us that we needed."

Ms Ngan Wu's shy, "good-hearted" oldest brother Michael Vrankovic — whose incredible memory once led their trivia team to a momentous victory and who she only argued with "maybe two" times in her life — has not been seen in almost six months.

Concerns were first raised on January 21, when a neighbour who spoke with Mr Vrankovic most days asked police to do a welfare check at his home in George Town, northern Tasmania.

But the 58-year-old was not there.

Police and SES then searched the coastal town, and nearby areas of Low Head, Beechford and Mt George, between January 23 and March 5.

"They did helicopter searches around the coastline as well and across the bushland and up the mountain," Ms Ngan Wu said.

"They had the SES there, they had mountain bikes, they had foot patrols.

"They did a lot of door knocking, trying to check if anyone's CCTV had seen him."

Tasmania Police said the last confirmed sighting of Mr Vrankovic was January 13.

Ms Ngan Wu said her brother had his phone on him when he disappeared and likely his wallet, as it has not been found.

But she said his car had not been used and nothing looked "untoward" at his house.

"He loved bushwalking," Ms Ngan Wu said.

"He'd been doing that since a pretty young age.

"That's what I think he probably was doing when he went missing."

She guessed her brother would have taken isolated tracks, as he was shy and enjoyed the peace of the bush, so would not have wanted to encounter others.

She said the last few months had been terrible for their family, wondering what had happened to him.

"You try and keep busy, just to keep your mind active and on other things, not to dwell on it too much," she said.

"But it's pretty upsetting."

Another search for FOLLO

The search for Mr Vrankovic will be Jon Edmund's third in less than a year.

He was among the volunteers who signed up to look for missing Belgian tourist Celine Cremer, who disappeared while hiking near Philosopher Falls, in the state's north west, in 2023.

Their efforts led to the heartbreaking discovery of her remains in January.

Many of the volunteers, seeing firsthand the importance of bringing closure to friends and families, then formalised as a group called Find Our Lost Loved Ones, or FOLLO, to look for other long-term missing people in the wilderness.

Their first case concluded in less than two days, when they found human remains during a search for missing Scottsdale man Peter Willoughby on May 30.

"[It was] overwhelming," Mr Edmunds said.

"It had a profound impact upon [the other volunteers].

"And yeah, they were straight away [asking], 'When are we doing this again for someone else?'"

He said they decided to look for Mr Vrankovic next because he disappeared relatively recently, in an area close to where he and other volunteers are based.

He said they would spend about four months planning the search and investigating the area.

Tasmania Police said it had spoken with FOLLO about the idea and planned to collaborate further.

'We'll put in our best'

Even though their approach had worked well so far, Mr Edmunds said they wanted to keep improving.

He said they debriefed with volunteers after the search for Mr Willoughby, asking for feedback on how to do things better.

He said they were also creating a social media presence to help volunteers get in touch, and source better communications technology and outdoor gear.

"We've been fortunate enough to have success [with] two searches," Mr Edmunds said.

"We know that might not always be the case.

"But, as I've told the family for the case of Michael [Vrankovic], we'll put in our best, give it our best shot and put all our efforts and resources into it."

Ms Ngan Wu said she was grateful the group was even attempting to find her brother.

"They can't promise anything, but they've definitely honed their skills in searching for missing people in pretty difficult terrain," she said.

"So if anyone's got a chance of finding anything, I think they would."