Liat Okin (35), who was tramping alone, was heading towards the Glenorchy end of the track when last seen at McKenzie hut on March 25, Detective Grant Miller, of Queenstown CIB, said yesterday.
She had not been seen since and possessions - including travellers' cheques and a passport - left at a house in Queenstown, had not been collected, Det Miller said.
The woman had met another Queenstown woman in the days prior to walking the track, and had left her valuable items at the woman's house with the intention of collecting them on March 27 or 28, Det Miller said.
"She never did,'' Det Miller told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"That's the biggest thing that's a concern to me at the moment... Even if you came out [off the track] and decided to do something else, there's not a lot to do in Glenorchy for 10 days. You have got to come through Queenstown.''
Police planned to interview several people who were walking the track at the time of the woman's disappearance, but appealed for anyone else on the track at the time she vanished to come forward, Det Miller said.
The woman was described as having an olive complexion, with dark, curly, shoulder-length hair worn in a pony-tail. She was 148cm tall, of thin build, with brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a red hoodie jumper with a zip-up front, jeans, and was carrying a backpack.
She was believed to be properly equipped but not an experienced tramper, and she might have struggled to complete the walk, Det Miller said. She was not believed to be carrying an emergency locator beacon.
"We have concerns for her safety. Currently, her whereabouts are unknown,'' he said.
Her family in Israel had not been contacted yet, he said.
"We have not gone down that track yet. We are just trying to pin down more information on where she was last seen.''
