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Press, 17 July 1980, Page 2

Rescue vehicles are shown gathered at Fishermen’s Point, near Taumutu,. yesterday as searchers dragged part of Lake Ellesmere for the body of a young fisherman who has been missing. since Tuesday. A helicopter was also used in the search, but late last evening no trace

had been found of th< missing youth, Riki David Rogers, aged 18. Mr Rogers had lefi Fishermen’s Point, neai the mouth of the lake early on Tuesday morning to check commercial fish ing nets about two kilo' metres offshore.

Local fishermen started a search when he failed to return by 1.30 p.m., and

t his four-metre runabout was found late on Tuesday evening sunk near the nets in three metres of water. .> Policemen and fish- : ermen raised the boat at dawn yesterday, and checked the nets in case Mr Rogers had become entangled in them. > A" Royal New Zealand :-i Air Force Sioux .helicopter

from Wigram was called in to make sweeps of the area, and part of the lake, near the nets was dragged. The police search and rescue controller f f in / Christchurch (Sergeant ;R. G. Gargett) said last,evening that the search area had been extended northwards into the lake because of the drift caused by southerly winds.

Sergeant Gargett said that conditions on the lake had been good when Mr Rogers set out, but southerly winds had whipped up a sizeable chop by the time he was reported missing. ■■ Mr Rogers had recently moved from Ashburton to Lakeside, where he had been helping a commercial fisherman.