Although there has been no physical search for missing Alexandra man Christopher Bates since last week, the search is still active, police say.
Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw, of Alexandra, said the search for Mr Bates would not end until he was found.
''It may be going through a re-evaluation phase, but it will continue. There's a lot going on behind the scenes.''
He said police were looking at bank accounts, interpreting cellphone data with telecommunications providers and reviewing CCTV footage.
He said police had exhausted all the obvious search areas but that did not mean Mr Bates was not in the search area.
Some areas had been searched three or four times at different times of the day, because different daylight could reveal new things.
Police and volunteers were likely to continue the physical search activities over the weekend.
''Right from the outset we've had grave concerns for the safety of Chris,'' Det Sgt Shaw said.
''Those concerns haven't improved.''
Sidonee Gibson, the fiance of Mr Bates' brother, Jonathan, spoke on behalf of the family.
''We've got no real idea where he is but we'd like to thank the community for the donations and piles of food,'' she said.
The family had delivered close to 4000 flyers around Alexandra, Clyde, Cromwell, Queenstown, Wanaka and the Maniototo.
They were thankful for the help of the police.
Mr Bates' father, John, said businesses had been ''extremely supportive'' .
The family advised the community to keep their eyes peeled for anything unusual.
If people were missing food, finding people asleep in their backyard or had even seen an iPhone 6, which Christopher owned, they should contact the Alexandra Police Station.
