THREE MEN MISSING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 75, 29 March 1928, Page 10

THREE MEN MISSING.

IN MOUNTAINOUS WILDS.

SECOND PARTY RETURNS.

JOURNEY WITH DEAD BODY.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

CHRISTCHURCH, this day.

No news has been heard in Oxford of a party of three men who left on Monday afternoon to help Andrew Neil Henderson, the young man who was subsequently found dead through a shooting accident at a camp miles beyond Lees Valley, in exceedingly rough country.

The party, whose provisions were meagre, took the wrong valley in their search for the camp and have not been seen since. The members of the party, as far as can be ascertained, were: Dr. L. D. Burnett, Mr. M. C. Bassett and Air. E. H. Buckridge.

Henderson's body was brought into Oxford yesterday afternoon by another party, which found the camp, but saw no trace of the first party. Over Mountain With Stretcher.

The party which returned climbed withj the body on a stretcher over a mountain 5000 ft high in getting from the camp where the fatality occurred. It took seven men from 10.30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday to get within live miles of the nearest hut. They bad very little to eat and they were absolutely exhausted when they arrived in East Oxford late yesterday. The boots of Constable John Robertson, of Oxford, who was with the party, gave out in climbing over exceedingly rough country and he had to use the boots of the dead man. The constable was wet through with wading through mountain streams.

Henderson, who was 20 years of age, was in a shooting expedition in company with Colin Bassett. At eight o'clock on Monday morning they were striking ■uinp. While Bassett was extinguishing the fire he heard a shot and on going out ie found Henderson shot in the right houlder, the rifle having discharged tfhen he was picking it up. Bassett W Bome *king °f a id an( i h® was ible to leave his wounded companion airly comfortable before going for "J®* but it took four hours to J* *ettler'« homestead. A partyi . .' ® un ) e tt left Oxford in the after>artv \Lfc- their wa y- Another it the cftmn an °tber route, arrived •«i <.«i