Police say a car potentially connected to the suspicious disappearance of a man in remote south-west Queensland last month was stolen from the Sunshine Coast.
Jeremiah "Jayo" Rivers, 27, is believed to have walked away from the group he was camping with near Wippo Creek, south of Noccundra, on the morning of October 18.
Police are treating his disappearance as suspicious and homicide officers are investigating.
Authorities want to identify the occupants of a car that was allegedly stolen from the Sunshine Coast and seen in Thargomindah, one hour from Noccundra, the day after Mr Rivers went missing.
"That is of interest to us, because that is an unusual thing for a vehicle stolen at the Sunshine Coast to do," Detective Acting Superintendent Stephen Blanchfield said.
The white Ford Focus was involved in a fuel drive-off in Miles on October 18 and another in Thargomindah on October 19.
"There's a lot of that period that we can't account for that vehicle," Acting Superintendent Blanchfield said.
Remote area a travellers' hub
Police have made a broad call-out for anyone who was in the area when Mr Rivers went missing to contact them.
"Make yourselves known to us so we can speak to you about your movements during that period and anything you may have seen," Acting Superintendent Blanchfield said.
"We're interested in any person who was out there, that includes transport drivers, tourists."
Acting Superintendent Blanchfield said despite the isolation the area was a hub for tourists, especially grey nomads and caravanners.
"We don't know how many to expect but it does get a lot of travel," he said.
Anyone who was in the Wippo Creek or Noccundra area on October 18 or 19 is being urged to contact their local police station.
Some friends still to be interviewed
A police and SES search for the East Kimberley man was called off after five days.
Mr Rivers's family members have continued to search for him near where he was last seen, but have failed to find any clues.
Acting Superintendent Blanchfield said only four of the six campers Mr Rivers was with at the time of his disappearance have been interviewed by authorities, with delays caused by a COVID-19 outbreak within the group.
He would not reveal what information had so far been gleaned from the campers, but said police were "not aware of any significant tensions between any of them".
"Our understanding is that Jeremiah had travelled down to the border area of Victoria [and] New South Wales to play football and there's a connection through the seven of those individuals through football and other work that was done that's connected them," Acting Superintendent Blanchfield said.
"Our understanding was that the end goal was to deliver Jeremiah and his cousin back to the Northern Territory and the [others] were going with them to do hunting along the way."
