A selfie on a discarded phone and an abandoned car are all that’s left of Brett Orme amid grave fears for the Brisbane tradie following his disappearance more than a week ago.

Homicide detectives have been called in to help local police and are appealing for information as they ramp up their search for the 54-year-old.

“We are perplexed as to what has happened to this missing person and we urge people to come forward,” Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham told reporters on Monday.

Mr Orme was last seen on August 11 at a property at Fitzgibbon in Brisbane’s north before leaving in a white Nissan Navara.

He contacted family two days later on a mobile phone that he used to take a selfie about noon the same day, Det Supt Massingham said.

The phone was discovered three days later near a walking track at Ironbark Gully in Samford Conservation Park.

Police then found his Navara in a secluded area about 20 kilometres away at the Tinchi Tamba wetlands, Bald Hills, on August 19.

It was “very unclear” what happened between the photo at Ironbark Gully and the vehicle’s discovery six days later.

Det Supt Massingham said the vehicle was seen entering Deep Water Bend in the wetlands on the night of August 13, leaving after a few hours then returning after midnight.

“At that time the vehicle is parked, it is locked and Mr Orme is nowhere to be found or seen,” he said.

Police had done an extensive search of the wetlands and would turn their focus to Ironbark Gully.

Asked about the circumstances in which he might have taken the photo, Det Supt Massingham said it was “probably a moment in time selfie that he took in a bushland setting where he was obviously enjoying some time”.

“The reason why he was there is unknown at this stage and still subject to the investigation and hopefully people that were around that very popular walking track on that Sunday may be able to shed some light on that for us.”

Det Supt Massingham said the shed builder’s family were traumatised from not hearing from him.

“This is indeed a a tragic matter and we require public assistance to fill in,” he said.

Police want to hear from anyone who might have seen Mr Orme or his vehicle, with Queensland registration 354WAN, between August 11 and 19.

Mr Orme is described as Caucasian and about 180 centimetres tall with short brown hair and blue eyes.

He was believed to be wearing a high-visibility trade polo shirt, police said.

– AAP