Mick Koppie last spoke to his 36-year-old son Joel fewer than three hours into the new year.
The Canberra father and son are in a band together and had travelled to Braidwood to play a gig at a hotel. After finishing the set and chatting over a beer, Joel's dad called it a night about 2.30am.
![Mick Koppie is pleading for the public's help to find his son, missing Canberra man Joel Koppie.](/web/20170118124250im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/t/5/3/d/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtsred.png/1484646987058.jpg)
"We were staying upstairs, so we all said 'happy New Year' and I went to bed thinking he wouldn't be far behind me," Mr Koppie said.
"But in the morning I couldn't find him anywhere."
![Joel Koppie on the drum kit.](/web/20170118124250im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/t/b/7/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtsred.png/1484641291804.jpg)
Sixteen days later, Mr Koppie has heard no word from his son and has joined police in asking the public for information.
Mr Koppie, an Electrical Trades Union official, said there were no traces of Joel's movements since New Year's.
ACT Policing expressed concerns for Joel's welfare on January 13.
It described him as a tanned Caucasian with a medium build, short brown hair and blue eyes. Police said he was 1.8 metres tall, but Mr Koppie said he was closer to 1.9m.
![Missing Canberra man Joel Koppie on the drums with his father Mick (left) and the rest of the "Sly Dogs" band members.](/web/20170118124250im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/s/y/w/0/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtsred.png/1484641291804.jpg)
Police confirmed Joel was last seen at the Royal Mail Hotel in Braidwood about 3am on January 1, and said he might have been travelling towards the South Coast.
Officer in Charge of Belconnen Station, Station Sergeant Greg O'Ryan said investigators were seeking any information about Joel's whereabouts.
![The "Sly Dogs" played a gig at the Royal Mail Hotel in Braidwood hours before Joel Koppie went missing. Joel is on the drums.](/web/20170118124250im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/s/y/w/3/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtsred.png/1484641291804.jpg)
"We are following up a number of lines of enquiry and now believe he could be anywhere between Canberra and the South Coast," he said.
Jervis Bay was the close-knit family's favourite holiday destination.
![Joel Koppie.](/web/20170118124250im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/q/q/e/u/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gtsred.png/1484641291804.jpg)
Mr Koppie said the only other time his son had gone away without telling others was 18 months ago, when police found Joel at Jervis Bay in his broken-down car.
"We called the police when we hadn't heard from him and they found him in less than 24 hours ... The fact it's been more than a fortnight ... is much more worrying."
One staff member at the Braidwood hotel told Fairfax Media that CCTV footage had been handed to police.
He said he was working behind the bar on New Year's Eve and had noticed Joel sitting alone while packing up about 3am, moments before he went missing.
"The rest of the band went to bed but he was hanging around like a lost soul," the hotel worker said.
"We all went our separate ways shortly after and that was the last I saw of him."
The hotel's manager later told Fairfax Media that the footage did not show Joel's movements after 3am as it "cut out".
Mr Koppie said the past 17 days had been difficult as he was frustrated by the many unanswered questions.
"It just doesn't make sense," he said. "I just want to find him and know he's OK."
He said Joel was a friendly, happy, outgoing person, who hoped to return to studying an accounting course after he recently quit his job at a Civic cafe.
Police urge anyone who may have seen Joel or has any information to contact police on 131 444 and quote reference number 6057428.