During a recent 24-hour dry run in the Moonlight Track area, in which 29 volunteer responders and two search dogs were deployed to find four people “missing” from a hunting party, the vollies worked for the first time with the Shotover 4WD Club.
Wakatipu SAR chair Howie Barnes says Queenstown police have been working with the club for about 18 months to align on procedures, but last month’s training exercise was the first chance to put it into practice.
“When we can’t fly, or access is limited, having trained 4WD support means we can still get people in and out of remote areas safely.”
Teams in the training exercise — which is “fundamental to getting it right when it’s a real missing person situation” — were called out just after 9am on May 23.
After initial planning and briefings, field teams were placed up Moke Lake from mid-morning, using a mix of 4WD access and chopper drops to get into the search area. The first person was located at 3.49pm on Saturday, and the fourth was found at 8.49am on Sunday after an overnight push.
“We were extremely lucky with the weather,’’ Barnes says.
“Even though it dropped to minus six overnight, the clear blue skies are a lot easier to operate in than the alpine weather we can often expect.”
