Beckenridge pair alive, locals believe

John Beckenridge
John Beckenridge
Locals in the remote Catlins area who saw John Beckenridge in the days before he disappeared with his 11-year-old stepson are adamant the pair are alive and have probably fled the deep south.

Mr Beckenridge, 64, was captured on security cameras paying for supplies in cash in the days after he took Mike Zhao-Beckenridge from James Hargest College's junior school in Invercargill on March 13.

Over the next week, the pair were spotted driving around the Catlins, south-east of Invercargill, and seen camping in tents and in the back of the Swedish-born pilot's dark-blue Volkswagen Touareg.

Locals also told of a van being driven at night with its lights off around the time the pair disappeared.

Farmer Colin McDonald saw them on his property near the southernmost tip of the South Island, Slope Point, on March 16 -- two days before police issued a public missing persons plea for help.

Mr McDonald, who had noted the VW's registration details, immediately phoned police.

About the same time, they were seen getting supplies at tiny Tokanui.

Kevin Millard of Tokanui General Store told NZME. News Service that he served Mr Beckenridge and the youngster on March 16.

Mr Millard remembers the pair, describing Mr Beckenridge as "talkative, nice, polite".

"They came in here and bought a few things -- a pie and snacks -- just general things," he said.

"[Beckenridge] was just another customer. He didn't look out of place. I didn't have any reason to think anything [of it]."

Mike Zhao-Beckenridge appeared happy and calm, "just the same as any other kid", according to Mr Millard.

"He definitely wasn't being held captive anything. If he wanted to get away, then one word, and we would've all helped him."

Mr Beckenridge, who has a $1 million house in an upmarket Queenstown estate, then filled up with fuel at the Tokanui Service Centre next door.

Garage owner Adam Miller said his CCTV system captured the exchange. The footage has been taken away by police who refused a request from NZME. News Service to view it.

"They got a good shot of him and the car," Mr Miller said. "They didn't get the plates but there aren't many blue VW Touaregs around here, it's mainly Couriers, Falcons and Hiluxes."

He remembers Mr Beckenridge acting calmly and didn't notice anything untoward.

However, when he reviewed the footage, he saw signs of a man on the run.

"You can see him chatting away, but he's very aware that he was exposed, with hat and glasses, and jacket pulled up," Mr Miller said.

"He paid in cash, which makes sense if he was planning to disappear."

Mr Miller didn't see the child in the car, and he wasn't captured by the cameras. But he added: "If he had wanted to scream the house down, that was the time to do it."

There were further confirmed sightings of the pair in bush in the Slope Point and Curio Bay areas on March 21 and 22.

Police found four camp sites, with tents left behind.

On March 20, Mr Beckenridge, who had worked for years in Papua New Guinea and Afghanistan as a commercial helicopter pilot, sent 'goodbye' texts to friends, his lawyer and ex-wife.

Sometime over the next 24 hours, Mr Beckenridge's car went over an 88m cliff near Curio Bay -- a remote spot notorious for rough seas.

A missing persons alert went out the day Mike Zhao-Beckenridge disappeared and border alerts were issued within 24 hours, police say.

It took six weeks to recover the vehicle from the wild cove's crashing waves. Their bodies were not found. Police forensic examinations found "no signs of human remains" in the car.

Mr Beckenridge is believed to have several aliases, including John Locke, John Robert Lundh, Knut Goran Roland Lundh and John Bradford. Friends believes he faked his and Mike's deaths.

Police, who have referred the case to the coroner, are still treating it as missing persons case.

This week, a police spokesman said they were still receiving potential sightings from members of the public across New Zealand, including one in Canterbury. Officers have ruled them all out.

An aviation expert and top criminologist have both said it would be possible to flee New Zealand undetected.

Last month, NZME. News Service revealed that a 61-year-old Australian passport holder named John Locke -- one of Mr Beckenridge's alisase -- entered Papua New Guinea on February 17. Immigration officials had no record of him leaving the country.

New Zealand police have since investigated the potential link and discovered that 'Mr Locke' left PNG on February 25. They say they have "clear evidence" that Mr Beckenridge was in Queenstown at that time.

Dozens of Catlins locals spoken to by NZME. News Service believe the pair have fled the area.

"You can't hide in New Zealand. You have to get out of the country," Mr Millard said.

"He's got a lot of connections. He has aliases, he has contacts to the underground world, he has definitely had help.

"He's not hiding out round here. There's too many hunters and people that they would've come over them. All the houses are pretty well known."

Mr Miller agrees.

"I can't believe he's still around here."

The boy's mother continues to decline approaches for comment.

Her lawyer Michael Mika said she hopes "they are still out there somewhere".

- Kurt Bayer of NZME. News Service

 

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