KUALA LUMPUR - Two Singaporeans, missing on a Johor mountain since Monday evening, have yet to be found, though authorities say they had initial location of the duo.
The pair, a man and a woman, both 27 years old, had gone to Gunung Pulai, in Johor's Kulai district for a hike. Kulai is located about an hour north of Johor Baru by car.
Malaysian authorities said search operations have increased from 60 people on Tuesday (Feb 6) to almost 100 on Wednesday, with police officers, park rangers, the Fire and Rescue Department and volunteers involved.
"We detected their location from the last phone call made and had asked them not to move, to remain in the area," Kulai district police chief Superintendent Dzulkhairi Mokhtar told The Straits Times.
The couple had made a call to the police after losing their way in the mountains.
Authorities cordoned off the area but have not found the pair despite combing the vicinity where they were last traced.
Police said the current search area is 36-km square.
On Facebook, users had identified the missing female as Clarice or Lum Jie while one friend posted that the woman was in the company of a man named Dominick Tan.
Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported that the police confirmed the identity of the duo during a press conference on Tuesday night.
According to Malaysian media reports, the mountain is temporarily closed to the public due to the rainy season but the couple had trekked up via a small hiking trail.
The couple had parked a Singapore-registered car in front of a home and entered the mountain at noon on Monday.
Facebook user Chloe Quek posted that the woman was last seen in a green top, tights, running shoes, with a backpack.
