They do it for the families of the missing, so they can have closure.
Twelve days after Dunedin man Stephen Lowe went missing, search and rescue teams found his body deep in the Catlins bush, confirming the worst for his family and friends, but solving a painful mystery.
It had been an exhaustive and exhausting nine-day search involving more than 100 volunteers from Otago, Southland and further afield, working on foot, in the air and in the water, in challenging territory.
The search in the Catlins began on Tuesday, September 19, four days after Mr Lowe told his Dunedin boss he was "popping out for two minutes", and did not return.
Mr Lowe’s Black BMW had been found abandoned in the Catlins Conservation Park, near McLean Falls, after his distressed family and police appealed for sightings or information.
Ultimately, his body would be found nearby nine days later.In the intervening time a massive search operation took place, starting with confirmation of initial reports of a vehicle seen in the Catlins that looked like the one that belonged to Mr Lowe were correct.
The officer in charge of the search, Senior Constable Murray Hewitson, of Owaka, is an experienced hand at search and rescue and has been involved in many searches in the Catlins area.
He is well versed in the limited cell phone reception, adverse weather, tough terrain and thick bush the Catlins presents to people searching within its bounds.
Even before getting into the bush, right from the start in any missing persons case, there were challenges, he said.
Often there were red herrings or ghost sightings to begin with.
"They’re all done with good intentions. Don’t get me wrong," he says of people who call in with information.
In this case, Mr Lowe’s car was indeed the one parked in the Catlins Conservation Park.
A quick reconnaissance search was done of the area before police in Dunedin and Balclutha were alerted and "ring-around" calls were made to search and rescue teams.
"We have a ring and text list for the Catlins and that was activated to report to our [LandSAR] base [in Owaka]."
Knowing they would need as many legs as they could muster, volunteers from Eastern Southland, Balclutha, Dunedin, North Otago and Central Otago were called in to help. They included water rescue units, specialist volunteer dog handlers, police and LandSAR teams. Helicopter assistance was also required.
Tasks were methodically assigned to small groups, starting with searching the immediate area near the falls.
The most obvious locations were eliminated first, while information was gathered to build a profile on the missing person to work out things like their ability, familiarity with the area, what they were wearing, how equipped they were and why they had chosen to go that area.
Snr Const Hewitson said searchers knew that, generally, in cases like Mr Lowe’s, the missing person was found within a 300m area of their vehicle or a nearby feature or attraction.
In this case, this meant the car park at Catlins Conservation Park and the McLean Falls.
Mr Lowe’s body was finally found by dog handler Emma Milburn and her dog, Dart, in a hollow, in a hard-to-spot place among thick vegetation and fallen trees, less than 150m outside of the main search area.
Without the dogs, searchers would have struggled to find him there, Snr Const Hewitson said.
Mr Lowe was the third person Dart had found, that Snr Const Hewitson was aware of. Before locating Mr Lowe, divers and water rescue teams searched an estimated 6km stretch of river.
"The search area was huge but what percentage of that did we search? I wouldn’t want to put a figure on it."
They were working on the strong possibility Mr Lowe could have been washed away, but by Sunday, September 24, Snr Const Hewitson was confident he was not in the water.
Each search needed to exclude all possibilities.
"Although we’re not coming up with anything, it means we are eliminating those areas."
From there the search could be concentrated or widened.
"If you’re finding clues, that’s where you put all your concentration. If you’re not finding anything, then it becomes Plan B, Plan C and Plan D."
When the search was suspended on September 25, to reassess the possibilities, doubts started to creep in.
"It starts to go through the back of your mind. Has he walked off our search field and gone somewhere else?"
Searchers knew the likelihood of finding someone alive so many days since they went missing was low, but Snr Const Hewitson said there was always hope the person might still be found.
By September 24, that hope was fading and the team was "gutted" nothing had been found.
It was important to ensure volunteers were well rested and fed otherwise it increased the risk of not being able to search properly and efficiently. However, Snr Const Hewitson and other management team members were often up until 10.30pm each day in preparation for the next day.
Keeping extended searches going, and even short ones, often becomes a wider community effort.
This time the wider Owaka and Catlins community came together to help keep the searchers energised with food and support.
"You’ve never seen so many crock pots in your life."
Some searchers from outside of the area were billeted with locals.
Some travelled back and forth every day.
After 10 days and "in excess of 2000 volunteer hours", Mr Lowe’s body was found.
"There was a bit of relief that there’s not a big mystery left."
It was undoubtedly a tragedy, but at least the family had someone to take home, Snr Const Hewitson said.
He thanked the volunteers for their "huge" time and effort contributions, and their employers for allowing them the time off.
"Although it was not the outcome anyone wanted, the effort put in by members was amazing and their determination is worth recognising."
