DISAPPEARANCE IN WAITAKERES

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29220, 2 June 1960, Page 7

DISAPPEARANCE IN WAITAKERES

Auckland Inquest Concluded (New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 1. A verdict that Arthur Edward .Green, aged 65, a nurseryman, died on or about May 10, 1959, in the Waitakere ranges off the Piha road was returned by Mr A. Addison, the Auckland Coroner, today. The body has not been found. “Although the evidence leads to an inference that he died, there is, however, nothing to show the cause of death,” said the coroner. Francis Albert Green said that his father over the last 40 years had gathered seedlings for his nursery from the Waitakere ranges. Three days after his father left on his last trip, he found his car in a disused quarry off the Piha road. The witness said there was no reason why his father should disappear. Sergeant R. B. Stewart detailed the extensive but unsuccessful searches made by police and civilians for Green. He said the bush was so thick a body could lie undetected quite easily. Although it was the function of the Supreme Court, he was permitted to make a decision presuming death, said the coroner. In this case, he was fortified by the consent of the Attorney-General. “Having heard the evidence, I am satisfied to assume that this man has died,” he said.