NORTHERN Territory police have located the body of former Strathbogie Shire councillor Alistair Thomson after he disappeared while hiking near Alice Springs.

Police began searching for the 64-year-old man on the Larapinta Trail, a well-known hiking trail in Central Australia, on Wednesday morning, and released a statement on Sunday night to say his body had been found.

The NT Police statement said: "For the privacy of the family, no further information will be provided."

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Mr Thomson last contacted his family by text message over a week before the search began, on Tuesday, May 21, saying he planned to be at Hugh Gorge the following day, according to NT Police.

But he did not contact his family as expected on Wednesday, May 22, and did not check back into his hotel.

At the time of his passing, Mr Thomson was an active member of Strathbogie Shire Council’s independent audit and risk committee, which meets four times per year.

He previously lived on a farm in Strathbogie and more recently lived in Melbourne.

He was a Strathbogie Shire councillor from 2016 to 2020.

Mr Thomson set off alone on the Larapinta Trail on May 13.

NT Police said in a statement he was an experienced hiker and carried adequate food and water.

Search coordinator Acting Sergeant Christopher Grotherr previously said: “We are using all the resources available to us to conduct this search… this is a large coordinated response between a number of agencies and volunteers.”

NT Police were been joined by other organisations and volunteers in searches by foot, car, motorcycle and helicopter.