Misty, cool weather has temporarily halted the search for Muizenberg resident Taro Spies, who disappeared while thought to be out on a hike on Table Mountain, the search co-ordinator said on Tuesday morning.

“Because of the weather, we have suspended all searching until it gets better,” Brent Jennings, who is vice-chair of the Mountain Club of SA, told News24.

He said searching around Table Mountain with low visibility put people at risk, while parts of the terrain were very steep and hazardous, becoming unacceptably dangerous when wet.

Spies, 25, left his home a week ago and his car was found on Tafelberg Road by workers the following day.

It was believed that Spies, as an active and fit person, had parked his car and gone hiking.

“We are still focusing largely on the Devil’s Peak area, some of the ridges and ravines in that area which, because of a variety of reasons, we suspect that there is a high likelihood of him walking in that area,” said Jennings.

Experienced climbers may be used to access those areas when the search resumed.

Jennings said a planning meeting was held on Monday night, where all the searching to date was analysed and possible scenarios examined.

“Obviously we are still following up.”

Search teams and dog units had scoured various parts of Devil’s Peak, the Twelve Apostles, Orange Kloof in Hout Bay and the lower slopes of Vredehoek.

Spies is over 2m tall, thin, has brown eyes, long dark hair and wears spectacles. News24