Relatives and friends of missing student Luke Dance were today anxiously waiting for news after he disappeared while backpacking in the tropical jungles of South America.

The 19-year-old from Crawley was last seen on August 29 when he left fellow backpackers in La Paz, Bolivia.

Today his father Michael, 48, of Climping, near Littlehampton, said he had no idea what had happened to Luke but he was well prepared for the trip and had undergone extensive Army training.

Mr Dance, an area manager for BOC, based at Southampton, said: "I am trying to cope by curbing my emotions and focusing on finding Luke."

He is pinning his hopes on reports of snowstorms in the area where Luke was backpacking and he is hoping his son may have been snowed in and unable to get in touch.

Today Mr Dance is setting up a website with a photograph and details about Luke appealing for information.

Mr Dance will be calling on Crawley MP Laura Moffatt to help with the search and is planning to fly to South America next week to retrace Luke's steps.

Luke, who lives with his mother and stepfather in Worth, is studying management science at Loughborough University and has been accepted for training as a second lieutenant in the Army at Sandhurst in three years.

His father said: "In his last e-mail to me on August 29 he gave an update of what he has been doing.

"He said he was fine. He had done a bungee jump out of a hot air balloon over Inca ruins, been whitewater rafting and been through jungles and down mines.

"He said he was planning a four-day trek on his own into a mountain range and then going down to sub-tropical valleys in Bolivia."

Before the trip Luke had been training to take part in an Army expedition to retrace the Inca trails and map them out for the Peruvian Government.

The Army decided not to go ahead with the project after the sponsorship was withdrawn.

But Luke and other members of the team decided instead to go backpacking in the area.

Mr Dance said Luke was responsible and very bright. He worked well in a team but enjoyed exploring on his own.

He said: "It would not be unusual for him to climb a mountain in order to see a sunset. This weekend he was going mountain climbing with the Army."

The family has not heard from Luke since August 29 but he drew a small amount of money from his account the following day.

He was due to meet friends on September 15 at Lima airport in Peru to return home but failed to arrive.

MP Mrs Moffatt said she was waiting to hear from Mr Dance and would use a fast-track system to contact the Foreign Office.

She said: "The family must be out of their minds with worry. It is my job to try to reduce some of this pain."