The remains of a young father who disappeared three years ago have been discovered.
Samuel Segal, 29, an arborist and keen outdoorsman, was last seen on January 15, 2022, with CCTV footage capturing him at Glenbrook National Park in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
Hikers found human remains in the park two weeks ago, on August 16, 2025, and within days, Segal’s family received confirmation they belonged to him, his sister Ashlea said.
“We have finally received the answers we have been searching for during three-and-a-half painful years, we have found Sam,” she wrote in a social media post.
Ashlea said the cause of her brother’s death may never be identified due to the time that has passed.
“But now, at least, we can say goodbye,” she wrote.
“Sam will be forever missed. Our hearts will forever be broken. My world will forever remain grey.”
According to the “Have You Seen Sam?” website, Segal went for a bushwalk and never returned.
His disappearance sparked an intensive search after his sister reported him missing on January 23, 2022.
His grey Toyota Hilux was found in a car park inside the national park two days later.
Neither his bank accounts nor mobile phone showed any activity, and authorities have not treated the case as suspicious.
Ashlea recalled texting her brother shortly before he went missing.
She had asked if he was free for a call while she was driving. He replied just over an hour later, asking if she was still free, but she was with friends.
She called him that night, but he never answered, and he never came back.
Describing her brother as a “nature nerd,” Ashlea said, “If he wasn’t out exploring native birds and trees in the bush, he was at home reading about them.”
She added, “I would say it was pretty normal for him to be exploring different parts of the Blue Mountains National Park, but he wasn’t super familiar with Glenbrook itself.”
Ashlea has shared updates about her brother’s disappearance over the past three years, calling the period “the hardest” of her life.
She also voiced sympathy for families still searching for loved ones.
“I remember feeling a complicated mix of grief, longing, and even envy whenever another missing person was found, or when a family was able to say goodbye to their loved one,” she said.
“For those still searching, my heart aches for you. I cannot promise that you will find answers, but you are in my thoughts, and I send you so much love.”
Images: Instagram
