CAUGHT IN BUSH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20629, 3 December 1941, Page 8

CAUGHT IN BUSH

MISSING GERMANS SEEN BY MOTORISTS ARMED POLICE CAPTURE (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this clay. The three Germans who escaped from Somes Island internment station on Wednesday night last, were recaptured in the bush of! Akatarawa road by Sergeant T. Forsythe and Constable C. E. Tanner, Upper Hutt, at noon yesterday. They were well equipped with clothing, blankets, stores and even a lent fly and a hot water bottle. One had a large sum of money on him. They have been travelling on foot by night and hiding by day since their escape, and state that they brought all the gear they had with'them from Somes Island and carried it all the time. One was armed with a large piece of wood and was going to show light till he saw that the police officers were armed. When they were caught they were in the middle of a hurried packing up pending a further trek. On Saturday night the police were informed that Hans Finke, one of the escapees, bought tinned foods from a Upper Hutt store about 7.30 p.m. Over the week-week Sergeant Forsythe and Constables Watson and S. Higgins scoured the hill country north of Upper Hutt and were informed that three men had been seen in the vicinity of Phillips’ farm, near Kaitoke summit, on the main Wairarapa road over the Rimutakas. When seen by a motorist they had run off the roach

Preparing For Flight

Shortly after 11 p.m. yesterday, Mr. Arthur Clouston, manager of Odlin’s Akatarawa mill, in company with Mr. Eric Olivecrona, was driving along Akatarawa road, nine miles up from the Brown Owl in bad bush country. They saw two heads behind some scrub. Mr. Clouston stopped his truck and got out to stay at the spot while Mr. Olivecrona drove on to Whiteman’s farm to telephone the Upper Hutt police. While Mr. Olivecrona was absent, Mr. Clouston was joined by Mr. Charles Muggeridge, who works on the road. These two “held the fort” pending the arrival of the police. Sergeant Forsythe and Constable Tanner arrived in, the locality where the men were seen and found them dismantling a tent fly and packing. Evidently they had been alarmed and wanted to leave quickly. One rushed off down the gully on the approach of the police. Another was armed with a big stick and was prepared to give fight till he saw the police were armed. Then both put up their hands and were handcuffed.

Sergeant Forsythe went after Finke, the one who ran away. He was concealed in the scrub near the river. After being challenged twice, he came out of hiding and surrendered. The men were in old clothes when caught, unkempt and bearing some appearance of hardship. Strewe was wearing spectacles which he does not ordinarily do. They reached the spot where they had bivouacked off the Akatarawa road at 3 a.m. yesterday. Would Have Shown Fight

One of the escapees admitted that the party would have given fight at first. They thought the police, who were in plain clothes, were civilians. The sight of arms dispelled that idea, and they surrendered. Their story is that they carried all the gear they had on foot, moving by night and resting by day. They stated also that they had brought it all with them from Somes Island, with the exception of tinned goods bought en route. They admitted being on the main Wairarapa road, but, suspecting they had been observed, made back on their tracks as far as the Brown Owl and took to the more lonely Akatarawa road.

The escapees were brought into the central police station, Wellington, where they are in custody pending their return to Somes Island. They were questioned by detectives yesterday regarding their escape. Somes Island is controlled by the central military district. It is probable that a court of inquiry will be held concerning the circumstances of their escape. No charge can be brought against the ■ internees themselves under civil law for escaping. The escapees were only 25 miles from Petone beach, where they landed, probably late last Wednesday night, from the dinghy taken by them from Somes Island. On behalf of the police, an officer of the force last night expressed appreciation of the assistance- that had been given in the search by the public and the press. Scores of reports of suspicious men were received at the police stations and, though most of them proved erroneous, the spirit and intention of the informants was a proper one, he said.