Missing hunter found in Ashley Gorge

Press, 10 April 1980, Page 1

Missing hunter found in Ashley Gorge

A young Kaiapoi shooter who had been lost in bush near Oxford since Tuesday was found wandering in the rugged Ashley Gorge last evening. John Ching, aged 24, of Cridland Street, Kaiapoi, was tired but unhurt when a ground search party found him. A big ground and air search had been mounted yesterday for Mr Ching, who is not an experienced bushman or hunter, and had no proper clothing or equipment to spend a night in the bush, according to the police. Heavy rain was falling

and the weather was closing in when he was found. Mr Ching and another shooter had gone into the Ashley State forest near Glentui, about 15km north-east of Oxford, early on Tuesday morning. They decided to hunt separately, but Mr Ching failed to meet his companion at their car at 5 p.m. as planned. Police and civilian ground parties went into the bush at dawn yesterday. Later, a Royal New Zealand Air Force Iroquois helicopter was called in to make lowlevel sweeps and ferry

ground parties to drop-off points. The police search co-or-. dinator, Sergeant R. G. Gargett, last evening praised the efforts of the Oxford search and rescue group and the helicopter crew.

“Both were working in very difficult terrain, covering quite a vast area, in poor weather conditions. They did very well to find him,” said Sergeant Gargett.

Mr Ching was sleeping at his home last evening, and could not be interviewed.