Australian police say they have scaled back the search for a Canadian hiker missing for more than two weeks in the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales.

The move came even as the family and friends of Prabhdeep Srawn pleaded with Australian authorities to expand the search for the 25-year-old hiker from Brampton, Ont.

A Canadian military reservist, Srawn was last seen May 13, when he drove to a village in the park where he intended to go for a bushwalk.

A search operation only began on May 20 when it was discovered he was missing.

In a release early Tuesday, New South Wales Police said they made the "tough decision" to scale down the operation after consulting medical experts and examining the conditions and weather forecasts for the area.

They pointed out that for more than a week, police with the assistance of several state and federal agencies had conducted an extensive search for Srawn.