Helicopter coastline search for missing man

Monday, 6 November 2017

Police will carry out a helicopter coastline search for missing man Colin Ross on Monday night.

The Marlborough man was last seen in Blenheim nearly two weeks ago.

Three search teams and a dog team searched the Heaphy Track, on the West Coast, over the weekend after his car was found near the track's entrance on Friday.

Police carried out another search of the track on Monday, but still found no sign of Ross.

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A police spokeswoman said the helicopter search on Monday night would run up the coastline from Karamea to beyond the Heaphy Hut.

Ground searches had covered the high-probability areas and further searches would be limited, probably until the end of the week or early next week, the spokeswoman said.

Department of Conservation volunteers would check caving areas, she said.

A friend paid for a private helicopter to search for Ross in the Waihopai Valley, close to where he lived, last week but was unsuccessful. 

On Saturday, search teams focused on the Kohaihai Bluff area and the Nikau Walk, right up to Crayfish Point, in the Heaphy Track.

Ross was last seen in Blenheim on October 25.