THE father of missing hiker Tom Billings says he feels “numb” after a final push to find his son proved fruitless.

The 22-year-old backpacker has not been seen since he set off for a short hike in mountains near Vancouver, Canada, last November.

Searches last winter were unable to cover some mountain areas hit by snow, and further searches in the summer were unable to find the missing Boars Hill man.

A final major search held on Saturday– involving about 40 North Shore Rescue volunteers – failed to find any trace of the former Cokethorpe School pupil.

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His family now face the possibility he may never be found.

Speaking after the failed search, his father Martin said: “I feel pretty numb really.

“I would give anything to turn the clock back and have the last 12 months work out in a different way.

“But who knows what that would have been?”

Mr Billings’s family went to Vancouver last month to prepare for the search.

His 52-year-old father said the search had involved about 40 people and a dog team.

He said: “It was a big co-ordinated ground search.

“It was something we had been planning with the guys out there over the summer.

“They were out there all day.”

And he said it had been tough waiting to hear about the search on Saturday, adding: “We were quite tense waiting for a call, not knowing what that would be.

“It was not going to be a good call whatever.

“It is very difficult but that is the position one is in. I feel completely powerless.

“That is one of the difficult things.”

But Mr Billings, a lawyer with Abingdon-based firm BrookStreet des Roches, said there was still hope.

He said: “Tom is an active case in the Vancouver Police Department but until they get any new leads they cannot develop the case.

“They are very dependent on some information.”

He said a database would alert the force if a body that could be Tom’s was found elsewhere, adding: “Something could turn up on that.”

Tom was visiting North America after graduating from Durham University with a first-class degree in psychology in the summer.

He was due to study for a doctorate in disabilities such as autism.

Vancouver Police Department spokesman Randy Fincham said: “The investigation into the disappearance of Tom Billings will not be closed until Mr Billings has been found.”

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