public static function search_users_count( $filter ) {
		global $wpdb;

		// Only search for matching strings at the beginning of the
		// name (@todo - figure out why this restriction).
		$search_terms_like = bp_esc_like( $filter ) . '%';

		$usermeta_table = $wpdb->prefix . 'usermeta';
		$users_table    = $wpdb->base_prefix . 'users';

		$bp = buddypress();

		// Filter the user_ids based on the search criteria.
		if ( bp_is_active( 'xprofile' ) ) {
			$sql = $wpdb->prepare( "SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT d.user_id) FROM {$bp->profile->table_name_data} d, {$users_table} u WHERE d.user_id = u.id AND d.value LIKE %s", $search_terms_like );
		} else {
			$sql = $wpdb->prepare( "SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) FROM {$usermeta_table} WHERE meta_value LIKE %s", $search_terms_like );
		}

		$user_count = $wpdb->get_col($sql);

		if ( empty( $user_count ) )
			return false;

		return $user_count[0];
	}