The Honolulu Fire Department, which has been assisting police in the looking for a missing hiker from Australia for over three days, today notified the man's family it is suspending its search efforts pending new developments in the case.

However, Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club volunteers plan to continue searching for Jon Parsons, 77, on the narrow and hazardous Waimalu Ditch Trail in upper Pearl Ridge.

"I told (Parsons') family not to give up because we've been on many searches and have learned from each not to assume there's no hope," said Mabel Kekina, who is coordinating the volunteer search for Parsons.

Parsons' two daughters and son-in-law are among the family members here from Australia.

A pighunter told family members he saw Parsons on the Waimalu Ditch Trail Thursday morning, according to Kekina. The hunter said he left Parsons with one of his dogs and told him he would lead him out. When he returned 45 to 90 minutes later, the dog and Parsons were gone but the hunter was able to call the dog out, Kekina said.

The hunter called police Saturday in response to a Honolulu CrimeStoppers missing persons bulletin issued Friday on Parsons.

Police searched the hiking trail above the Nahalekeha gated community on Onikiniki Way Thursday night and were assisted by the Fire Department on a search of the area Friday. An aerial search was conducted Saturday on the Waimalu Ditch Trail following the hunter's report.

Fire, state Department of Land and Natural Resources and police personnel conducted ground and aerial searches yesterday and today and found no evidence of Parsons. Three days is standard for searches involving public assets.

The ground search effort yesterday and today on the Waimalu Ditch Trail covered about 12 square miles, said HFD spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig. Today's search was suspended at 5:30 p.m.

Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2010, maintains most of the local hiking trail.

According to family, Parsons hiked the Waimalu Ditch Trail about two years ago. He had set out Thursday at 10 a.m. to hike up to the ridge above the gated community but apparently changed his mind.

The Waimalu Ditch Trail is located at the top of Kaonohi Street and winds its way down into a valley, Kekina said.