Police scale back air and sea search for Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux whose belongings were found on a beach in state’s north

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Police are scaling back the search for two British and French tourists who went missing at a northern New South Wales beach on Sunday.

Personal items belonging to Hugo Palmer and Erwan Ferrieux were found by walkers on Shelley Beach, near Port Macquarie, 390km north of Sydney, at sunrise on Monday.

Their rental car, a silver Commodore, was later found in the car park containing other belongings, including travel documents.

A water and ground search began on Monday involving police and emergency services.

By Wednesday afternoon there had still been no sight of the pair, and police confirmed the search was being scaled back.

“Based on advice from experts, police have scaled back the air and sea search, but sweeps of the coastline and foreshore will continue over the coming days,” NSW police said in a statement.

Police are still appealing to anyone who might have seen the men, or their car, near the Shelly Beach car park or in the surrounding streets to contact them.

Local police have described conditions in the water during the weekend as “terrible”, but earlier on Wednesday officers involved in the search had remained hopeful.

Police Inspector Peter Neville told reporters the search team remained hopeful of finding the men alive.

“We honestly believe these people could well be alive,” he told reporters at the scene on Wednesday.

“At the moment this is strictly a rescue mission. The search extends three nautical miles offshore and predominantly south to Lighthouse Beach at Tacking Point.

“We have not put a time frame on the search; our efforts are entirely to locate these two men.”

Social media posts show the two men travelled to Australia in November, spending time in Melbourne, Sydney and the Great Ocean Road before travelling north.

In an Instagram post before he left the UK in November, Palmer wrote about his excitement for the trip.

“The day is finally here that I’ll be travelling to the other side of the world with my amazing friends,” he wrote alongside a photo of his mother hugging him.

“Can’t wait to make some great memories and I couldn’t do it without you guys.”

While Ferrieux is a French national, both men appear to have attended the Sackville school in West Sussex.

Friends of the two men have travelled to Port Macquarie.