Tonga Police appeal for sightings of missing German man in Haʻapai

Tongan Police say they are increasingly concerned about a 46-year-old German man who went missing in Hihifo, Haʻapai on Christmas day.

Kaniva News reports the missing person is Frank Doblitz and married to a Tongan woman from Hihifo, Haʻapai.

Doblitz and his family are living in Germany and they were visiting their family in Haʻapai during the holidays.

His brother in law reported him missing to the Haʻapai Police after Doblitz went out swimming and didn’t return by nightfall, according to Deputy Police commissioner Pelenatita Vaisuai.

They went to check the beach at Hihifo but he was nowhere to be found.

Haʻapai Police with their Search and Rescue boat Amolua was deployed.

They searched the beach and the surrounding areas but there was no results so they returned to shore after 4:00 in the morning.

Doblitz was wearing a dark blue short. He was also carrying a pair of diving goggles, diving shoes and an underwater camera.

The family confirmed that he has a certificate in diving and would go scuba diving whenever they visited Haʻapai.