Fears For Missing Trampers

At about 7.40pm on Wednesday the 6th February 2013 Te Anau Police were alerted to an overdue walker on the Lake Marion area, off the Hollyford Road, in Fiordland National Park.

The track is regularly used by day walkers en route to Milford Sound and the surrounding area. This has about 50 persons on it per day this time of year.

The missing person was a 66year old English tourist travelling with his wife. They had started their walk at 11.20am from the Marion Creek car park arriving at the Alpine Lake at 1.45pm.

On their return trip at about 3pm the male began his descent to the car park about 15min before his wife and at some point left the track.

His wife was unable to locate him and searched the track twice before raising the alarm at Gunns Camp at about 7.30pm.

The gentleman had an existing heart condition and a Search and Rescue response was initiated immediately.

The Gunns Camp manager and two local hunters began searching the track at about 8pm and a SAR Team from Te Anau was assembled.

A Southern Lakes Helicopter equipped with night vision equipment and the thermal imaging unit was on site shortly after 10pm and a light was spotted in the Marion Creek bed area, off the track.

SAR volunteers negotiated their way to the subject who was in in good health but had become lost.

He was flown down to Gunns Camp and reunited with his wife at about midnight.

Police would like to emphasise the importance of carrying a light source when in the outdoors no matter how insignificant the tramp would seem to be. The missing subject had a camera and an I Pad and the light sources from these items were enough to be detected quickly in the darkness.

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