A car travelling in convoy to a concert at Gloriavale on Tuesday morning went missing, seemingly without a trace.
It transpired later in the day the car with its two female occupants had come to grief after sliding down a bank above Lake Haupiri, not far from the Gloriavale turnoff, about 10.30am, stranding the women in their crashed car for about six hours without anyone knowing where they were as emergency services searched the area.
One of the occupants was found on the road in the early evening after climbing up the bank, Greymouth police said yesterday morning.
Moana Volunteer Fire Brigade Fire Chief David Larkin said ''quite an army of people'' were assisting, including members of the Gloriavale Christian Community, when the brigade arrived on the scene about 5pm.
The driver was uninjured but was trapped in the car, which had crashed not far off the road.
''The car had gone off the road quite early in the day . . . the car was up against a tree and they couldn't open the driver's door,'' Mr Larkin said.
''Even though it wasn't very far off the road, it was near impossible to see.'' - Greymouth Star
-By Brendon McMahon
