Authorities in Queenstown, New Zealand, and a pair of Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis are scouring the surrounding countryside in the search for Israeli backpacker Liat Tess-Okin.

The 35-year-old, who was last seen wearing a red hoodie with zip-up front, jeans and a backpack, was reported missing by friends five days ago after she failed to contact them a week after setting out on a three-day hike alone.

According to Rabbi Mendel Goldstein, the Canterbury-based director of Chabad-Lubavitch of New Zealand, no foul play is suspected in the disappearance, but investigators are worried because Tess-Okin did not set out with a lot of food. Goldstein and his assistant, Rabbi Oren Raz, flew the hour to Queenstown to assist in the search, and are serving as liaisons to both Tess-Okin's family and the Israeli government, which does not have an embassy in New Zealand.

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"It's very important that there be people on the ground that can serve as a bridge between the New Zealand authorities here and the family overseas," said Goldstein. "In a phone call a few hours ago, former Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz told me that he would look into the possibility of offering Israel's advanced aerial imaging technology to aid in the search effort should it be relevant and approved by the New Zealand government."

On Wednesday, Israel's embassy in Australia dispatched a representative to the search team's base camp with a supply of kosher food for Goldstein and Raz. The rabbis, who were in the middle of arranging four Passover Seders for a total of 500 Israeli backpackers when they dropped everything to help, are giving updates to Israeli Foreign Ministry officials every two hours.

A total of 14 people are actively involved in the search.

"We are waiting for a good outcome," said Goldstein, who urged community members to recite Psalms in the merit of Tess-Okin's protection. "G‑d willing, she will be celebrating Passover with us next week."

According to Goldstein, an estimated 20,000 Israeli backpackers tour New Zealand every year.

Liat Tess-Okin, 35, is 1.6 meters tall with a thin build, olive complexion, brown eyes and dark, curly, shoulder-length hair worn in a ponytail. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is urged to call Rabbi Mendel Goldstein via this link.