As each day passed hopes dimmed in finding any trace of the Prime Minister, let alone finding him alive. It was probably the most exhaustive search for an individual Australia had undertaken. Holt had disappeared on 17 December, 1967, the search continued through the Christmas period but was eventually called off on 5 January, 1968.

While people at the time were puzzled that there was no trace of a body or shreds of clothing, in subsequent years many people have drowned along that piece of coastline and their bodies have never been recovered.

This clip is from the documentary, The Harold Holt Mystery (1985).