Body found believed to be missing Victorian hiker
A body believed to be that of missing Victorian hiker 'Ted' Taddeo Haigh has been found near where he was last seen in Victoria.
The body was found near Sawmill Settlement on Thursday afternoon, four days after the 31-year-old went for a short walk from a holiday house in the small town, near Merrijig, at 9.30pm on Sunday night and did not return.
The engineer spent a fourth night in the bush on Wednesday after searchers were unable to locate him by nightfall.
Mr Haigh's wife Elizabeth Campbell said on Tuesday she was struggling not knowing where he husband was.
"I feel like he's either lost or at this stage been injured and can't get back to where he knows where it is, so it's really hard thinking about that," she said.
Mr Haigh's parents flew in from Germany on Tuesday night to join about 200 others who have searched dense bushland and rugged terrain in the area over the past four days.
"Unfortunately the terrain from outside the back door is wilderness, goes into a very substantial wilderness area in Victoria [with] everything from steep terrain and cliffs to gullies and mineshafts," acting sergeant Mark Helyer said on Tuesday.
"So a very protracted area to search and very resource heavy.
Conditions in the Mount Buller region dropped to 8C overnight.
Police first conducted a ground search for Mr Haigh on Monday morning after his wife spent most of Sunday night looking for him.
On Tuesday, police aircraft joined the search co-ordinated by Victoria's Search and Rescue Squad, which also had the assistance of local police, the dog squad, and mounted police.
The SES and Parks Victoria are also involved, along with bushwalking volunteers from Bush Search and Rescue Victoria.
Victoria Police members alongside specialist areas Airwing, Dog Squad and Mounted Branch supported by St John Ambulance, CFA, Bush search and rescue, Ambulance Victoria, SES and Department of environment, water, land and planning were all involved in the four-day search.
Police, who have yet to formally identify the body, will prepare a report for the coroner.
