The family of missing water-sports instructor Nathan Clarke will arrive in George Town today, boosting the search for the UK resident, while police said yesterday that CCTV footage reviews had offered
“no sign”.

The mystery around Mr Clarke’s disappearance last Saturday evening deepened yesterday, as 18 police officers and 35 civilian volunteers continued to search the waters off Public Beach, focusing on the area where a swimmer found the missing man’s cell phone on Wednesday.

“As we enter day six of the search for Nathan Clarke,“ police said, “officers have revealed that, despite examining hours of CCTV footage from West Bay Road, no sign of Nathan leaving the beach area onto the roadway, on Saturday 25 February 2012, has been found. The examination of CCTV
footage continues.

“Divers and snorkellers are searching for any trace of Nathan or his property,” the statement continued. “His cell phone was recovered from the sea on Wednesday but his black Fossil wallet has not yet been found.”

Police declined to elaborate on the progress of the hunt, pending the arrival of parents Randell and Elizabeth Clarke today, saying only “the search is ongoing”, reporting “no significant developments”.

Mr Clarke, 31, vanished from the area of Calico Jack’s last Saturday between 8:30pm and 9:00pm as he and fiancee Lisa Beck, 32, also from the UK, shared drinks with friends.

Ms Beck said she last saw Mr Clarke about 8:30 “walking towards the water’s edge”, wearing only a pair of beige shorts. Police have established that the last call from his black Samsung telephone was between 8:07pm and 8:09pm.

RCIPS Detective Superintendent Marlon Bodden said on Thursday that the cell phone, found in 10 feet of water, nearly 50 metres offshore, did not indicate what may
have happened.

“It’s a very difficult judgement to make and we absolutely cannot draw any conclusions” from the phone’s location, he said.

He declined to reveal where the phone had been between the 8:09 end of Mr Clarke’s final call and Wednesday’s discovery by the swimmer, saying only that “it is part of our inquiry”.

Speaking from the UK, Ms Beck’s sister Abbey said the discovery of the phone was a positive sign.

“It could mean he dropped the phone,” she told local reporters. “It certainly doesn’t mean he was necessarily in the water too.

“We are trying to stay as positive as we can and are not jumping to conclusions. As far as we are concerned the search continues.” she said. Mr Bodden has said police have no evidence of any criminal activity, and that the case remains a missing persons investigation.

“No further property has been recovered at this stage, and no trace of Nathan has been found despite extensive searches,” police said.

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 people have joined a Facebook campaign entitled “Find Nathan”, while collecting funds for a private-helicopter search of nearby waters.

UK friends from Mr Clarke’s native Cheltenham took to the town centre to hand out leaflets raising awareness of his disappearance and collecting cash for the appeal.

Chloe Hull, 27, from Swindon Village, said: “We just want to do all we can from here to raise awareness and support the search effort as best we can.”

Carole McClelland, 27, from Up Hatherley, said: “Nathan is a strong swimmer. It is unlikely he would
have drowned.”

Police yesterday welcomed volunteers to aid the hunt: “Divers and snorkellers who wish to join the search Saturday are being asked to attend at the police command vehicle at public beach car-park by 8.30am. Police are stressing once again that searchers must report to police so that searches can continue to be professionally coordinated.”