MISSING AIRMAN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 79, 15 January 1936, Page 8

MISSING AIRMAN

SEARCH FOR MR ARMSTRONG.

PARTY ABANDONS EFFORTS

(Special to the " Guardian.") WELLINGTON, January 12

The privately-organised search party for Mr' Hamish Armstrong, the Akitio farmer, whose aeroplane crashed while flying between Dannevirke and Hastings on Sunday, July 21, has abandoned its search for his body (states a Hastings correspondent). The search was begun on October 17 when it was hoped that the spring rains would have melted the snow and given the searchers an opportunity of finding the body, but continued bad visibility and unfavourable weather conditions on the slopes of the Ruahincs delayed progress for some weeks. Actually the party was able to go out on 11 days only. It was composed of Messrs Stanley and Henry Barlow and A. Peers, who went up into the hills from the Wakarara end as soon as the weather broke in October. They met with a low hanging mist and frequent rains, which for days on end obscured their vision. Time and again the party set out only to be rebuffed by heavy rain and mist, and sometimes for nearly a fortnight they were prevented from making any • material progress. Even the arrival of summer days did not seem to make much difference to their chances and in the end they decided t« abandon their quest.