Police say it’s “remarkable” the man, who remains in hospital fighting for his life, survived the incident by the time emergency services arrived.
The man, who lives a short walk from Bexley Reserve, went for a walk with his dog on Monday morning.
A couple who live nearby saw the man being assaulted by a man about 5.10am.
On Wednesday, Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves told The New Zealand Herald that after the assault the man’s dog returned home about 5.45am.
His family then drove around looking for him, finding him on the ground about 6.20am.
“He had been there, from the attack to being found, about an hour. It was remarkable that he has survived,” Reeves said.
The man remains in a critical condition in Christchurch Hospital.
“He has had a number of surgeries. He’s obviously a fighter, he’s doing well I guess in that regard but he’s not out of the woods,” Reeves said.
“His family are remarkable under the circumstances, they’re obviously very stressed and traumatised by what’s happened, but he’s got quite a lot of family up in the hospital at his bedside with him.”
On Tuesday, Reeves put out a call for information on a man and a woman who were seen leaving the scene on Pages Rd, at around 5.10am.
The man is described as being possibly of Māori or Pasifika descent, of slim build, and approximately 176cm tall.
He has short dark hair, is believed to be in his 20s and was wearing an orange high-vis top, a hat and shorts.
The woman is described as being possibly of Māori or Pasifika descent, of solid build and approximately the same height as the man - 176cm tall, with long dark hair.
She is believed to have been wearing a long white dress at the time of the incident.
Reeves this morning said police were combing through CCTV footage to try and see where the white car went following the incident. The car was parked in the driveway to Bexley Reserve facing out towards the road and went left on to Pages Rd after the stabbing.
“I would say that at the moment we have a lot of information coming in from the public so we’re working through all of that information to determine its relevance or significance to the investigation, and obviously we have other general lines of inquiry that we’re following. We’re busy, we’ve got a lot of leads to follow up on.”
She said those involved would now know how serious it was.
“It is now time to come in and tell us what has happened so we can find some closure for this family and resolve this matter.
“I am absolutely certain that they would’ve spoken to family, they will have spoken to friends or someone’s going to recognise the description of the man, and the woman and the car and know who they are. We’re encouraging friends and family, any of those people to report through to us, they can do that anonymously.”
Police are urging anyone with information to call 105 and quote the file number 221114/3294.
Information could also be reported online at www.police.govt.nz/use-105, using “Update My Report”, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
