The police national dive squad began searching the Haast River yesterday for the body of Canadian tourist Connor Hayes. The official search for Mr Hayes (25) was scaled back earlier this week.
However, the dive squad's involvement in the operation ''only became an option once the river cleared'', Senior Constable Robin Manera, of Haast, said yesterday.
Five divers and two local jet-boat drivers had found nothing yesterday, but had intended to return to the river to complete the rest of their search pattern today.
''We just wanted to search some of those holes [in the river]. It's really the last shot that we can give the river and hopefully we've got a flood coming this weekend.''
Police hope bad weather will either cause the Haast River level to rise and dislodge Mr Hayes' body, or wild seas to return his body to land.
Whitebaiters and tourism operators have also been asked to keep an eye out for him.
Mr Hayes and his girlfriend, Joanna Lam (24), are believed to have been swept off the Haast Pass road by a landslip on September 10. A body believed to be Ms Lam's was recovered on Friday, but there has been no sign of Mr Hayes.
Snr Const Manera said Mr Hayes' close relatives were expected to arrive in New Zealand within the next week.
