DEATH CHEATED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19827, 29 April 1927, Page 7

DEATH CHEATED

BACK FROM THE MISTS Missing Trampers Return to Levin Exhausted LOST IN FOG AND SNOW [Per Press Association.! LEVIN, April 28. The two Wellington youths, Desmond Scanlon and Roy Diedrich, who essayed to cross the Tararuas from Levin to Masterton and had bean missing since Good Friday, came out of the mountains unaided this afternoon. The lads had not been heard of for twelve days, and as they only had provisions for four days, were thought to have perished, as since Easter Sunday the mountains had been veiled in rain and fog. About 150 bushmen and experienced mountaineers had been searching for them for the past week. The lads state that they got as far as the Masterton side of Mount Dundas (4944 feet high), reaching the pinnacle on Easter Sunday. Then the fog came down and they decided to turn back, but lost their way in tho mist. They spent three days in a trench under a mound, their food consisting of two onions, one lemon, a tin of salmon and ten potatoes. They made an effort to find the route again but could not, and spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday under an overhanging rock. On Sunday the fog lifted for a little while, but descended again thicker than ever, and the lads gave up hope, being too exhausted to go a few yards for water. Next morning it was still raining, but the weather had cleared, and they struggled on, coming at length to the Mangahao River, the valley of which has hitherto been thought to be impassable, owing to the precipitous cliffs. They made the passage down the river, Scanlon falling 20 feet down a waterfall without being hurt. On Tuesday they reached Avalanche Clearing, and there found provisions cached by search parties, which undoubtedly saved their lives, as they had only six potatoes left. On Wednesday, though weak and weary, they pushed on and reached the forks of the Ohau River, down which I they found their way to the open country, where they were picked up and taken to a farmhouse. Diedrich and Scanlon are little the worse for their experience. Their return caused great surprise, as they had no tent and the weather had been bitterly cold for ten days, the rain and snow falling on the ranges and th fog enveloping them continually.