The father of a 22-year-old British tourist missing in Vancouver made a desperate plea Monday for any tips that might save his son’s life.

Thomas Billings hasn’t been seen since the morning of Nov. 25, when he’s believed to have departed from a home on East Broadway for a hiking trip on the North Shore.

Two weeks later, his father told reporters he’s holding out hope for his son’s survival, but worried the young man is caught on a mountain with an injury that’s preventing him from making his way home.

“Tom could be out there somewhere,” Martin Billings said at a police press conference. “What I hope is he’s got to a warm place where maybe he has a broken leg or something but he is able to keep warm.”

Billings described his son as a seasoned traveller and hiker, a “young, tough guy” who is used to being on his own.

Tips led North Shore Rescue to dispatch both ground and air teams around Grouse Mountain last week, in the areas of Lynn Headwaters and Hanes Valley, but crews were unable to find any sign of him.

His distressed father, who flew to Vancouver to speak with investigators, struggled to maintain his composure while pleading to the public for more leads.

“Did you see Tom? If you did see him, please get in touch,” Billings said. “We just hope that he can be found somewhere safe and get back to his normal life.”

The young man recently graduated from university in the U.K., and was travelling across North America before interviewing for post-graduate research work.

Billings said his son landed in New York in mid-October and stopped in Texas, Arizona, California and other states before making his way to Vancouver.

The last time he and his father spoke was when he was staying in Seattle around Nov. 22.

“Tom and I were both huge fans of ‘Frasier’ so Seattle was a big place for us. We joked about the places he might have seen,” Billings said.

Vancouver police found a backpack at the home Thomas Billings was staying at, and search and rescue officials fear he wasn’t equipped for cold temperatures.

North Shore Rescue team leader Tim Jones said it’s unlikely the young man has survived, but crews will continue to follow up on any times received.

“I would never want to rule out that a person could survive,” Jones said. “It’s just not looking good.”

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Norma Reid