Now having done a little bit of research on Google with Vh-mdx
For Mr Smith (post 128) and Mr Hat (140)
The summary of the search efforts for VH-MDX indicate it involved over 400 people, went for 10 Days of air searching (including RAAF aircraft)and even more of foot slogging including the army. At the time it was one of the BIGGEST search efforts ever conducted in Australia. it included complete aerial photography of the area provided by the RAAF and satellite photos provided by the USAF.
I offer you BOTH the opportunity to withdraw your remarks about the effort that was conducted to find these people by the defence forces.