KEY POINTS:
A specialist search dog is being flown to Fiordland today to join in the hunt for missing Israeli backpacker Liat Okin.
The dog, based in Christchurch, will help scour areas inaccessible to searchers.
The 35-year-old tourist was last seen at the McKenzie Hut on the Routeburn Track early on March 26.
Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Hutt last night said police had found a water bottle and an item of clothing but did not know yet whether they belonged to Ms Okin.
It is now more than a week since police launched the search and five days since Ms Okin's younger brother Iatamar Tas arrived with friend Joe Kariv.
Mr Tas told the Southland Times the strain of sleepless nights and heartbreaking calls from his parents back in Israel was starting to take it toll.
However, his spirits had been boosted by the arrival on Monday of his cousin Ofer Avidar.
"Of course, it is very hard every time to speak to my parents. We are optimistic but of course I can hear the distress and worry in their voices," the 26-year-old Israeli student said.
Ms Okin's parents were constantly in touch with their son, the two Christchurch-based rabbis liaising with the family in Queenstown and the police searching for any new shred of hope that their daughter will be found alive.
Hopes were buoyed on Monday when police found a man who helped Ms Okin pack her bag for the tramp, discovering she had a lot more food than first thought.
She was also well equipped with warm clothing and a sleeping bag.
Two years' military service in the Gaza Strip would also help her.
"My sister is tough and strong and can take care of herself, but it's true she didn't have a special sense of direction," Mr Tas said. "We really need to believe - I feel she is alive."
- NZPA
