SHEEP FARMER MISSING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19804, 21 May 1934, Page 8

SHEEP FARMER MISSING

CAR FOUND ON RIVER BANK SUICIDE SUSPECTED By Telegraph—Press Association CHRISTCHURCH, May 20. Mr Stuart Leslie Rutherford, of Leslie Hills Station, Waiau, has been missing since Saturday morning, when the car he was driving was found on the northern bank of the Waimakariri river near the bridge on the Main North Road. On Saturday the superintendent of police at Christchurch received a letter from Mr Rutherford stating that he was afraid that he had struck a cyclist on Thursday evening while driving his car on the Marshland Road, and that he could not face the consequences. Pinned to the letter was a clipping from an evening paper with an account of the accident. Mr Rutherford indicated that his body might be found in the Waimakariri river. It is supposed that Mr Rutherford walked to the northern end of the bridge and jumped off. The current at the point is strong and the river at present is very muddy. The police have been searching for the body ever since without success. Probably it would be carried out to sea. The victim of the accident to which Mr Rutherford's letter referred was J. Anstey, a relief worker, of Linwood. While cycling home from work on Thursday evening he was knocked down by a motorist who did not stop. An account of the accident was given in the evening papers on Friday, with an announcement that the police were investigating to discover the driver of the car. Anstey suffered head and shoulder injuries, but is now improving.