There has been no sign of Peter Nugent, 83 since he left his residence at Hawthorn Village on Wednesday morning.

The 83-year-old suffers from several medical conditions.

Multiple police units, including search and rescue and the drone squad, returned to Melbourne yesterday on the third day of an operation to find the missing man.

Senior Sergeant Doug Incoll said an extensive land and water search had been conducted, which would continue with smaller numbers of officers at the weekend.

Police have searched Morses Creek, a short distance from his residence, which will be again checked once the water level has dropped.

"I think the family are doing well in such trying circumstances," he said.

"They still hold out hope.

"Let's hope we do have a positive outcome, but police do hold grave concerns for his safety."

Senior Sergeant Incoll said members of the public had approached police with many in the community aware he was missing.

"They have been looking," he said.

"I'd ask people just remain vigilant as well and check their back yards.

"If they do see someone who resembles him or if they have information, they can call Triple-0 or Bright police."

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The creek will need to drop by about half-a-metre for police to again check the waterway.

Water has been fast flowing after recent heavy rain.

"We've done everything humanly possible with the current conditions," Senior Sergeant Incoll said.

About 40 police officers, firefighters and SES volunteers have been involved in the search at its peak.

About 18 people were involved in yesterday's search.

Mr Nugent was wearing a blue checkered shirt, beige top, pyjama pants and black shoes when he was last seen on Wednesday.

He did not have any protective clothing when he went missing.

The 83-year-old is 165 centimetres tall, has blue eyes, a medium build and short grey balding hair.

The temperature has dropped to freezing during the time Mr Nugent has been missing.

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