Update: Missing Swimmer, Maruia Falls
Nelson Bays Area Commander Inspector Matt Scoles:
The search for the missing swimmer at Maruia
Falls will continue over the
weekend.
Today members
of Police staff and Land Search and Rescue volunteers
continued
their search for the missing 26-year-old
Christchurch man, who failed to
resurface after jumping
into the water last Friday.
The team encountered
another day of challenging conditions, with very
poor
visibility reported.
An extensive search of
the pools on the east side of the river beneath the
falls
was undertaken, utilising a submersible camera from a raft
tethered on
the river.
A second team, made up of
four swimmers and two inflatable rescue boats
coordinated
a thorough search of the river downstream for approximately
two
kilometres.
Sadly, the missing swimmer was not located.
We remain in close contact with the family at
this difficult time and will
continue to do so to provide
them with any necessary support.
We will continue to
do all that we can to locate the man and return him
to
his family.
Search efforts are expected to
resume tomorrow and river conditions will be
constantly
reassessed.