Police search to resume for missing British tramper Stephanie Simpson
Tuesday, 11 February 2020
A British tramper is missing in the South Island's Mt Aspiring National Park after intense flooding in the area.
Police confirmed to Stuff a ground search would be under way on Tuesday for 32-year-old Stephanie Simpson.
Simpson was reported missing on Monday after she failed to return from a hike and didn't arrive at work.
A police media spokeswoman said a helicopter had been used in a search on Monday evening and inquiries had helped them narrow down the search area.
**READ MORE:
* Female tramper reported overdue in Mt Aspiring National Park
* Tramper deaths at Mt Aspiring National Park in 'extraordinary' weather
* Southland flooding aftermath: Minister to assess damage, civil defence reaching out
* Trampers in Fiordland recall 'roaring' noise before hut is hit by a landslide**
A ground search for Simpson would take place on Tuesday.
The Fox Glacier Alpine cliff rescue team, a search dog and handler, and Wanaka LandSAR volunteers will help.
The search area was around Fantail Falls to Mt Brewster, the Brewster Hut, Mt Armstrong track and Makarora Valley.
A social media post on numerous public South Island community Facebook groups said Simpson planned to hike to Brewster Hut, north of Lake Wanaka in Mt Aspiring National Park.
On Saturday, she planned to walk to Makarora's Blue Pools.
Friends and family have been unable to contact her since Friday lunchtime.
Anyone on the track over the weekend who stayed in the Cameron Flat area and may have spoken to Simpson is asked to call police on 105.
Simpson works as a landscape gardener in Wanaka at Doug the Gardener.
Her boss Doug Peddle said it was not his place to comment.
Some of her friends have been approached for comment.
In an unrelated case, the bodies of two trampers were found in th Makarora River on Friday and Saturday. Police have not yet released their names.
Last week, torrential rain struck the area and caused slips and flooding throughout Southland and Fiordland.
A State of Emergency for both Southland and Fiordland has been extended for another week.
WHEN THE FLOODING HIT
The severe flooding last week caused the closure of walking tracks and DOC huts throughout the area.
During the worst of the weather, nearly 200 trampers became stranded and had to be rescued and flown out by helicopters.
Some trampers who became stuck on the Routeburn Track described their terrifying ordeal - the moment when a landslide nearly swept away the hut they were staying in.
At the time, the trampers told Stuff that they heard a roaring noise and the sound of splintering wood as the slip crashed into their hut.
Some people had suffered minor cuts and bruising but none were seriously injured.
Other trampers became stranded on the top bunks in their hut as water poured into it and flowed less than a metre below them.
Civil Defence and Southland District Council have a huge task ahead after the aftermath of last week's flooding.
In the Gore District, at least 21 homes have been damaged by floodwaters. Assessments are still being carried out in Southland and parts of Fiordland.
On Saturday, Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage flew over the most flood-affected areas of Fiordland to assess the damage caused to DOC facilities.