Friends have launched a desperate plea to find an Irish backpacker missing in Australia.
The Irish Consulate in Sydney have asked for information on the whereabouts of Declan Whales.
Declan, 30, is thought to have been backpacking in Australia for the last few months and was last seen at Gilligan's Bar and Hotel in Cairns.
A police report on his disappearance was made in Ryde, which is suburb of Sydney - almost 2,000km from where he was last seen by a friend.
Lucas Rathmann, a 26-year-old from Germany, worked with Whales, an electrician for a week.
They worked together in the rural town of Winton which is 1,400km north-west of Brisbane.
He said: “Last time we’ve seen him was on the 23rd (June).
"He started about a week earlier than we did.
"We just worked there for a couple of days and when we left on the 23rd, he was alright.
"He planned to stay a couple more weeks to save some money.
“The camp was in the middle of nowhere, no signal and the next town was 140km away.
"Maybe he’s still just out of signal.
“He was a very nice guy, always spoke to everyone.
"A really open and friendly guy.”
Declan Whales was born in Ireland but lived in England before going to Australia.
He speaks with an English accent.
A Facebook post by the Irish Australian Support Association of Queensland said that Whales was going to Brisbane to work with a fencing contractor.
The Department of Foreign Affairs are aware of the case and are providing consular assistance.
Luke Richards , 24, from London and his girlfriend met Declan at BigFoot Backpackers Hostel in Bundaberg, a Queensland city which is known for backpackers travelling and looking to earn money through farmwork.
He said about Declan: “He’s a really nice guy, always happy, would always stop and speak with you.
"When I first met him, he came straight out, stuck out his hand and said ‘great to meet you’. He was very friendly.
“This is strange because he doesn’t seem like the type to just disappear. He was really responsible from what I saw, he was a supervisor for an electrical company in the UK. [I’m] honestly so shocked at all this.”
“He said he was a supervisor when he left but didn’t want to do that anymore as it was too much stress.
"He didn’t want to be an electrician in Australia. He wanted to extend his visa for a second year.”
