The multi-agency search was launched on Saturday night with more than 100 rescuers combing the popular hiking destination in search of Shek, who had been missing since Thursday.

Her family called police on Saturday after losing contact with her. She left her Nam Shan Estate home in Shek Kip Mei on Thursday afternoon.

The operation involved Government Flying Service helicopters, as well as drones. Search efforts had been ongoing since Saturday night, and other units deployed comprised elite members from fire services’ high-angle rescue team, a mountain search and rescue team, police tactical unit officers and Civil Aid Service officers.

Fire Services Department duty assistant divisional officer Leung Pak-ho said they received a call from Shek’s family at about 10.30pm on Saturday. By around Sunday noon, his men had searched the main trails on Kowloon Peak but there was no sign of the woman. 

Police also released a statement on Saturday, saying: “Shek Lok-kiu, aged 24, went missing after she left her residence in Nam Shan Estate on the afternoon of April 15. Her family made a report the next day. She is about 1.68 metres tall, 45kg in weight and of medium build … She was last seen wearing a dark green jacket and carrying a green rucksack.”

Surveillance footage showed Shek leaving her block at around 2.20pm on Thursday. 

It was not exactly known where she was headed, but her family believed her outfit at the time and internet searches on her personal computer indicated she might have gone hiking at Kowloon Peak. 

Leung also said hikers on Saturday evening had found a pair of trekking shoes confirmed to be Shek’s near a trail heading to a rocky stretch dubbed “suicide cliff”.

Earlier on Sunday, a jacket was also found near a hillside along the trail, but it was later confirmed this did not belong to the woman, according to Leung.

At a press briefing shortly before 1pm on Sunday, Chief Inspector Paul Mak Chung-kit from police’s Kowloon West regional headquarters said that with the help of the telecoms company to trace mobile phone data, signals from Shek’s phone were last received at 8.19am on Saturday, by a transmission station at Chiap King Industrial Building in San Po Kong. Dozens of police officers were searching the San Po Kong area.

Hiker dies in hospital after being found unconscious on Kowloon Peak slope

Mak also said police had been trying to reach out to contacts on Shek’s phone whom she had last been in touch with. 

“We have checked with immigration authorities and she has not left Hong Kong. We have also contacted hospitals and there was no record of her being admitted. We are still checking with hotels,” Mak added.

The mysterious case had rocked the community, with many hikers volunteering to help in the search.

But Leung asked people not to go uphill as it could be dangerous. Leung also urged the public not to use drones as it could interfere with the work of rescue teams. 

Kowloon Peak, also known as Fei Ngo Shan, is a popular hiking destination for thrill-seekers and a hotspot for social media users to snap breathtaking photos of Kowloon. It is the tallest point in Kowloon, at 602 metres.

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