Friends of Irish backpacker, Ronan Lawlor, who is missing in South America, are this weekend joining the efforts to try to locate him.
Mr Lawlor has not been heard from for almost a month but his rucksack was found in a hostel in Argentina.
28-year-old Ronan Lawlor, from Durrow in Co Laois, left Ireland last August on a trip around the world.
He was in Argentina when he was last heard from on 18 November, when he sent a text to his friend Barney McCabe.
Mr McCabe and Ronan's cousin Grainne Lawlor are travelling to Argentina today to assist in the search effort.
Last night they said they were encouraged by the news that Ronan's rucksack had been found a hostel in El Calafate in Argentina, as it would help focus their search.
He was staying in the hostel before he crossed the border into Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, and intended returning there.
His friends and relatives say they now believe he went missing after entering the park and are asking any travellers in the area to be on the look out for anything unusual.
