Clothing found in pass

Press, 29 January 1988, Page 5

Clothing found in pass

By

NEIL CLARKSON

Clothing dug up in Otago’s remote Danseys Pass has been sent to detectives investigating the murder of Miss Maureen McKinnel in Arrowtown. The police cannot yet establish whether the clothing is linked to the killing of Miss McKinnel, aged 38, whose naked and strangled body was found beneath the Arrow River bridge late last year. Detective Inspector John Rattray, who heads the inquiry, said none of the items has been recognised as having belonged to Miss McKin-

nel. “We don’t know if they have any relevance to the inquiry. The gut feeling is that they don’t. “But they are clothes in good condition so it is a little bit unusual. “The condition they are in suggests they have been there only for' a short time.” They were found on January 14 buried in a shallow hole beside the road, which links North and Central Otago. Holidaymakers camping near the Maraewhenua River, about I.2km towards Duntroon from the Danseys Pass Camp, discov-

ered the clothing. It was dug up by their dog as they were breaking camp, Detective Inspector Rattray said. The clothing consisted of a white singlet, a blue brassiere, a fawn size-12 silk blouse, fawn Canterbury brand trousers, a man’s handkerchief, a pair of men’s trousers with a leather belt, and a blue striped man’s shirt. The hole also contained a black plastic comb, a key ring with a petrol cap key, and a separate ignition key believed to be for a Holden car, between 1971 and 1979 model. A broken key was also

found but is unidentifiable. Detective Inspector Rattray said the items were not stained and were not in a bag, but loose in the hole. A decision has yet to be made on whether the items will undergo forensic tests. Anyone with knowledge of the clothing is asked to call the police. The search of the Arrowtown dump is expected to end early next week. Nothing significant to the inquiry has so far been found.