THE family of a missing Frankston couple last seen in Ballarat say they are overwhelmed by the compassion shown by the Ballarat community.Rebecca Michels and her fiance Craig Stanley left their home near Frankston on October 27, leaving a note telling housemates they were off to Bendigo to pan for gold.The couple then hired a car, despite having several vehicles of their own, and left Melbourne.Ms Michels was last seen on October 28 in Ballarat negotiating for the Nissan X-Trail hired by her and Mr Stanley to be returned. When Mr Stanley returned on October 31 to drop off the car, Ms Michels was not with him. It is the last confirmed sighting of either missing person.The car was returned to Frankston on November 2 with clothing and camping gear inside.Ms Michels had sent strange text messages to her work, saying she would not be in the day she disappeared because police were investigating her missing housemate. No housemate was missing.Ms Michel’s sister Cathryn McAdie told The Courier yesterday family members were not making plans to come to the area to start their own search.“We haven’t got any plans like that at this stage,” she said.“Only because they said they were going to Bendigo and then ended up in Ballarat, so where do we start?”Ms McAdie said she wasn’t exactly sure what the police investigation into her sister’s disappearance involved, but said she was overwhelmed with the support of locals in the Ballarat region.“It’s just crazy – I can’t believe how much support we’ve got,” she said.“There are plenty of people up there (in Ballarat) putting up posters in shop windows and faxing around flyers to businesses.“Just complete strangers giving up their time – it’s amazing.”Police and family members say it is possible the couple eloped, but say there is no reason to suspect foul play.Frankston Police Detective Senior Constable Chris Sweet called on anyone with information to come forward. Ballarat Police Sergeant Paul Kinna said local members had followed up a couple of potential sightings of the pair, which turned out to be false alarms.He said there were no immediate plans to launch a large-scale search of the area.Ms Michels is described as 160cm tall, thin, with shoulder-length brown hair and a fair complexion. Mr Stanley is described as about 172cm tall, of medium build, with short black hair and a beard.Anyone with any information on the disappearance can call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.