Worried family reveal the 'unusual' signs that has them fearing the worst for their son after he disappeared on a hike in Queensland bushland

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 01:15, 23 June 2026 | Updated: 01:29, 23 June 2026 The grief-stricken family of a magician who has been missing for than a week in rugged bushland hold onto hope that he is still alive, despite being without his phone. There are growing fears for Gold Coast magician and mind reader Daniel Hidden, 26, who was last seen leaving his Broadbeach home in the early hours of June 14. Two days later, his silver Hyundai Santa Fe and Galaxy caravan, along with abandoned personal belongings, were found by police along the side of the road in the Currumbin Valley. It is near a popular hiking spot that Mr Hidden frequents.  His family initially believed the avid hiker and camper had set off on another solo adventure at one of his favourite spots, where he often heads off the beaten track. They're now very concerned as the multi-agency search and rescue operation entered its second week.  'He does do getaways, camping frequently, but never no contact,' Mr Hidden's brother Ilya Jamshidi told Seven News. 'He hasn't taken his phone with him, which is a bit unusual. Gold Coast magician Daniel Hidden has not been seen or heard from in more than a week  Despite growing fears, Faranak holds onto hope that her son is still alive 'A week without contact or shelter, that's pretty unusual to us.' He added that his brother doesn’t like sticking to marked tracks and 'desires the hardship in unexplored places. Despite growing fears, Mr Hidden's mother Faranak holds onto hope that he is still alive.  'I believe in him, but now it's more than eight days passed. We need to find him, he needs help,' she said. 'But he's alive and people can come and help to find him before something happens.' Dozens of Australian Defence Force personnel joined the ramped-up search on Tuesday morning. Authorities describe it as a critical day in the search. 'They're familiar with going into this very arduous landscape, and we're going to go further than we've ever gone before with our volunteers,' Queensland Police Acting Inspector Mitch Grey told Sunrise. Mr Hidden's silver Hyundai Santa Fe and Galaxy caravan remains near the hiking spot where it was found abandoned a week ago The search for the much-loved magician and cruise ship entertainer has entered its second week 'They're trained for this and that's their specialty. That's why they're here for the next couple of days to assist us. 'There are at least 20 different walking tracks from here to northern NSW that they will search as a part of these efforts.' Mr Hidden is 180cm tall with an average build and olive complexion. He has long black hair, a black beard and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a maroon-coloured top and black cargo pants. Also a cruise ship entertainer with Virgin Voyages, Mr Hidden has almost 7,000 followers on Instagram, where he last posted on June 10 - four days before he disappeared. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.