Police Scour Beach For Missing Man

10 August 2006

Police searching for missing 37 year-old Waterview man Luke Mitchell are combing Bethell's Beach on Auckland's west coast today and are supported by a Search and Rescue team and specialist cadaver detection dogs.

Mr Mitchell was reported missing to Police on June 24. Despite repeated publicity by Police appealing for information about his whereabouts since then, there've been no reported sightings of him since June 5 when he was seen by his flatmate.

Police believe his car was stolen from the Bethell's Beach car park on June 16. Registration plates belonging to the car - a white Toyota Caldina stationwagon - have since been recovered by Police.

One was on a stolen vehicle used as a getaway car after an aggravated robbery on July 15, while the other was found in a Henderson stream on Tuesday. The car itself has not been found.

Detective Sergeant Geoff Baber of the Avondale CIB says staff and Search and Rescue personnel will continue searching the beach and its surrounds until this evening and, if there're no developments, will resume searching there tomorrow morning.

"Air Force staff will assist us tomorrow morning from about 8.30 and we'll also have the continued use of the cadaver detection dogs," Mr Baber said. "We're lucky to have the Bethell's Beach Surf Life Saving clubrooms as the search headquarters out here."

High tide at the beach is expected to be about 11.30am tomorrow.

ENDS

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