A fruitless search last month for eight people boating off the South Otago coast has cost the taxpayer at least $30,000, according to figures supplied by police and rescue authorities.
The group was last seen heading out in heavy seas at Kaka Point, south of Balclutha, in kayaks and an inflatable dinghy on October 11.
A local person concerned for their safety alerted police but searchers found no trace of the boaties and no-one has since owned up to being part of the group.
Figures supplied under the Official Information Act by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) show an extensive search and rescue operation cost more than $30,000 for aircraft alone.
New Zealand Police, which started the operation because it was initially an inshore search, paid $10,678 (excluding GST), or about $5000 per hour, for the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter to search the area for two hours.
Police also tasked a fixed-wing aircraft from South Otago to join the search.
The plane was in the air for 1.5 hours at a cost to police of $300.
When it became clear a bigger area needed to be searched, the operation was taken over by RCCNZ, which paid $15,555.98 (excluding GST) for the rescue helicopter, or $3535.45 per hour, for 4.4 hours.
It paid $3780 (excluding GST), or $756 per hour, for a fixed-wing aircraft from Invercargill to search the area for five hours.
Three boats also joined the search for the kayakers, but they were not paid for their services due to a maritime agreement among all marine vessels.
As RCCNZ operated at all times, year round, no direct cost was incurred for a specific operation aside from the external resources tasked and deployed.
All searchers returned to base without finding any trace of the boats or people.
Police were hopeful that meant the party had returned to shore unharmed.
The report was of four people wearing lifejackets in four kayaks accompanied by four people in a rubber inflatable boat.
Police have since failed to identify the group despite efforts to encourage group members to contact police.
Dunedin and Clutha area commander Inspector Dave Campbell said police and rescue services had to act on information received.
It was surprising that none of the kayaks, the dinghy, nor the people on them had been spotted during the extensive search.
It was very unusual for police to request reparation for a search operation, but if police found someone had deliberately wasted police time, they did have the option of charging them and seeking reparation though the courts, he said.
