MISSING MEN FOUND.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIV, Issue 1001, 28 April 1924, Page 5

MISSING MEN FOUND.

ON RANGES NEAR MANGAHAO. ONE OF BEARTJH PARTY LOST. BELIEVED TO BE DROWNED. Anxiety concerning the fate of the two men, Messrs Escott, senior, and junior, who were reported lost in the bush between Eketahuna and Mangahao, was allayed on Saturday aftornoon, when it was known that they had been found by one of the search parties. The Escotts had left Eketa : huna on Tuesday with the intention of tramping to the Mangahao hydro-elec-tric works, but their non-appearance had indicated that either some mishap had occurred or that they had lost their way. The "Standard's" Shannon correspondent advised this morning that in all seven search parties left the river camp at Mangahao on Anzac Day and Saturday. Of these, one party, consisting of Messrs Hohbs, Gill and Greenfell, travelled right through to Eketahuna. By picking up an old track below the lower Mangahao gorge mother party, from Eketahuna, consisting of Messrs Ure, Albertsen, Hancook and Escott (a son of the elder of the missing men), had arrived at Mangahao on Sunday morning after following the same route as the missing men, and picking up their trail at various places. One of the search parties from Mangahao, consisting of Messrs Hudson and George Dunnage, met the missing men on Saturday on a spur leading to the Mangahao river. FOGS AND BAD WEATHER. Mr Escott and his son stated that they had been delayed by fogs and dirty weather, but had taken shelter and conserved their food supplies. They had left Eketahuna on Tuesday with two days' rations and had arrived at Mangahao on Saturday afternoon. They heard the whistle at tha Mangahao camp, which was being blown every half hour, quite clearly on the previous day. They spent two nights without a fire as their matches had got wet, and had very little food for the latter part of the journey. Mr Escott is an experienced bushman and both he and his son seemed wonderfully fresh after their trials. After they met the search party on the ridge a direct route was followed to the Mangahao river to a point about half an hour's walk from the works, when a halt was made to boil a billy. A SEARCHER LOST.

Mr Dunnage went ahead to give the news of the discovery of the missing men to the engineer in charge and to send a telegram, but he failed to turn up and there is every reason to believe that in his hurry to the camp he was drowned in one of the gorges. As soon as he was reported missing, Mr Cocks, of the Mangahao staff, set out down the river going as far as the lower gorge, where he stayed all night. Messrs Johnson and Hudson, engineers at Mangahao, organised a party and with lights searched until midnight. Owing to the heavy rain and the rising river the searchers had some considerable difficulty in getting back to the camp. On Saturday between 20 and 25 men carried out a systematic search of the river bank. The river, on that day, was low and clear and was considered safe for travelling. It was thought that Dunnage, in getting to the camp, took a risk in one of the gorges. He was a very strong swimmer, but may have been knocked against the rocks or boulders. He is a .son of a well-known surveyor, Mr W. H. Dunnage, of Katikati. The search is still being carried out.