A man from Asau and Samatau-Tai has been missing since last Thursday with the Police issuing a public appeal for information on his whereabouts.

Tasi Pologa Tuipeā, 55, left his family home in Asau Savai'i last Wednesday and was last seen last Thursday morning at Samatau-tai, according to the Ministry of Police Prisons and Corrections Services.  

His sighting at Samatau-tai was the last time he was seen in public and since that time has not returned home nor been in touch with his family.

In a statement released on the Ministry's official Facebook page at 2.41 am on Sunday morning, the Police published two recent photos of Mr. Tuipeā as well as a brown-coloured Toyota Fortuner Registration Number 11741 that the missing man was last seen driving.

"We ask the public for any information in relation to finding Mr. Tuipeā or have seen his vehicle to contact 22222 or any nearest police station," read the Police social media post.

Family members of Mr. Tuipeā have also taken to social media and shared the Police Ministry's post, appealing to the public for any information that would assist them or the Police locate him. 

The case of the missing 55-year-old coincided with the start of the Police's New Year operations with a team of officers deployed in the final hours of 2022 to monitor the celebrations around the Government Building in Apia.

About 20 Police men and women were deployed on New Year's Eve to monitor the fireworks celebrations around Apia's seawall, adjacent to the Friendship Park at the back of the Government Building and next to Samoa Tourism Authority (S.T.A.) cultural village.