Amuri councillor drowns

Press, 9 November 1984, Page 6

Amuri councillor drowns

An Amuri County Councillor drowned in the Waiau River yesterday in spite of several attempts to rescue her from the swift current and heavy seas. She was Margaret Elizabeth Heard, aged 52, of Cheltenham Street, Hanmer Springs.

A jet boat was forced on to its tail in an attempt to rescue Mrs Heard, and a man wearing a lifejacket and rope also tried unsuccessfully to reach her. Waves were probably 2m to 2.5 m, said the Cheviot police officer, Constable Kirk Newman, last evening. Mrs Heard’s son, David, aged 26, finally managed to recover her body, but 45 minutes of resuscitation and cardiac massage failed to revive her. Mrs Heard and her son had been fishing for white-

bait on the south spit of the Waiau River, about Bkm downstream from Spotswood, when the accident occurred about 1.20 p.m. About 20 persons were whitebaiting in the area.

Mrs Heard had her net tied to her waist. A large wave caught the net and swept her out to sea, said Constable Newman. After Mrs Heard managed to stand up on a sand bar about 20m from the shore, a jet boat, driven by two Waiau men, Mr Phillip Brown and Mr Paul Hepplethwaite, tried to reach her. But it was unsuccessful and she disappeared into the water again.

By the time Mrs Heard’s body was recovered it would have been under water for about 10 minutes, said Constable Newman.