Lost trampers may have been sighted

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33513, 19 April 1974, Page 1

Lost trampers may have been sighted

A glimpse from a searching aircraft in the gathering dusk yesterday, of what may have been two figures huddled near a small red tent on a ridge in Arthur’s Pass has raised hopes that i two missing trampers may yet come out safely.

Only indecision at Mount White over the grid references of the sighting—well away from the trampers’ proposed route—and the swift onset of darkness, prevented a helicopter waiting at R.N.Z.A.F. base, Wigram, from going to the area to take a close look.

Even if the helicopter that will leave Wigram early this morning does pick up the trampers they will have spent seven nights in rough country, during which time more than eight inches of rain and three inches of snow has fallen. At Mount White Bridge, where . a mobile command post is directing the search efforts of a total of 27 policemen, park rangers, soldiers, and civilians in four groups, one searchei commented: "If they get out of there it’ll be a bloody miracle.” Mr P. Croft, the chief park ranger, said: “I don’t want to seem an alarmist, but things are looking pretty serious.”

The trampers were known to have had only enough food for last week-end. ROUTE SEARCHED Mr Neil Henry Duff, aged 58, a builder, of Head Street, Sumner, and Mrs Elizabeth Dorothy Dixon, • aged 47, a nursing sister, of Wiggins Street, Sumner, have not been seen since they told the park headquarters last Friday i that they planned to tramp

up the Hawdon River valley and over the Trudge Col, a height of 5000 ft. They have not been seen or heard from since.

By 3.30 p.m. yesterday four ground parties had searched the whole length of their proposed route, and their planned return path along the Poulter River valley. The<e was no sign of the two having used any of the huts. The groups began to search side tracks, pools and waterfalls, fearing that the trampers had been swept away by the swollen rivers. A Harvard aircraft from Wigram droned overhead, but had to withdraw with radio trouble. .

At 5.30 p.m., as the search parties began to move back down to the Casey Hut for the night, a second Harvard radioed search headquarters that it had made a sighting near the confluence of the Otahaki River and the Koronuku River. Flight Lieutenant B. W. Donnelly and Flight Lieutenant E. Y. Creelman reported that they thought they had spotted one person standing and another lying

near a red tent, in a small clearing in the bush at about 3500 ft. On a second sweep, they thought the person lying down had sat up. The grid reference they gave showed the sighting to be miles away and in the opposite direction from the route the trampers should have been on. It was also suggested at search headquarters that the sighting might have been of a small red helicopter that deershooters were using in the area, and which might have landed. Time was lost. The night closed in. and it became too dark to search by helicopter or on foot.

The R.N.Z.A.F. helicopter will leave Wigram at first light today, and ground parties will move towards the position of the sighting at the same time.