Searchers disappointed but relieved

Martin Bull.
Martin Bull.
It was not the outcome searchers wanted, but there was relief among those involved in the search effort after the seven-day search for Ian Mathieson ended on Wednesday evening, police said.

The body of the 79-year-old Romahapa resident was found in a paddock near Monaghan Rd, near Balclutha, on Wednesday about 5.30pm.

The result was able to provide Mr Mathieson's family and those involved in the search some closure, Sergeant Martin Bull, of Balclutha, said.

''There have been a lot of man hours that have gone into the search: a lot of time and a lot of angst, trying to find him and trying to find him alive,'' he said.

''Obviously, finding him deceased was not the outcome we wanted. However, finding him is of great relief to the family and to the searchers. At least they get a little bit of closure.''

A LandSAR team with a search and rescue specialist search dog found Mr Mathieson's body between 1km and 2km from his abandoned black Nissan Maxima, which was found near Carterhope Rd on Thursday last week.

The Clinton Lions Club member failed to return home after a meeting in Clinton on Wednesday, July 22 and the search was launched after his wife reported him missing at 1am last Thursday.

A 3km radius from Mr Mathieson's car was established as a search area and it was searched multiple times without yielding any clues as to his whereabouts.

The area where Mr Mathieson's body was found had previously been searched by a flyover and by a LandSAR crew on foot, Sgt Bull said.

The 28sq km search area had been searched up to four times in some areas: multiple helicopters had been used, as had drones, specialist search dogs, the police national dive team, water rescue teams and LandSAR crews from Dunedin to Tokanui.

Including members of the community, who also volunteered, up to 50 searchers were involved in the effort on some days.

While Sgt Bull would not go into detail yesterday, as the death had been referred to the coroner, he said the body was located in a place that would have made it difficult for searchers to find.

''It's an area where unless you're within 15m of it, depending on the direction, you're going to miss where he was.''

Police were trying to determine how the man, who was believed to have become disoriented on his way home, came to be where his body was found.

Yesterday, police were also trying to determine how long he had remained in his car after it became stuck in the mud where it was found.

hamish.maclean@odt.co.nz

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