22 Year Old Thomas Lang Missing Since 12/18/13 While Hiking in the Area of Oak Creek Canyon, AZ

22 year old Thomas Lang has been missing since December 18, 2013 when his father dropped him off at Manzanita Campground in the Oak Creek Canyon area with only water and a sleeping bag. It was a planned 5 day hike as he went into the woods  without a cellphone or any food because he was fasting. Thomas Lang was last seen at the Manzanita Campground in Oak Creek Canyon north of Sedona. Lang is described as a 6-foot-1 male, weighing about 140 pounds with long blond hair and dreadlocks.

The official search for 22-year-old Thomas Lang, a hiker reported missing outside Sedona more than a week ago, has been suspended.

Search coordinator Rex Gilliland, chief deputy of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, said the official effort was put on hold late Thursday after another daylong search came up empty.

Lang was last seen Dec. 18, when his father dropped him off at Manzanita Campground in the Oak Creek Canyon area with only water and a sleeping bag. Authorities on Thursday said Lang set out on the trip without food because he was “fasting.”

“To what extent and why, we don’t know,” Dwight D’Evelyn, a spokesman for the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, told the Associated Press. “But he did not take food with him. That’s been made very clear.”

Gilliland said Lang’s family members will likely continue the search for the young man who was expected to return from his hiking and camping trip last Sunday.

The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office can be reached at 1-800-338-7888CQ, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office at 928-771-3260, and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office at 602-876-1801.