Searchers for lost tramper also sought clues to missing Marlborough woman

Thursday, 23 May 2019

Land Search and Rescue members search for Nelson man Philip Young in bush at Mount Richmond Forest Park, between Nelson and Blenheim, last week.

Missing Marlborough woman Jessica Boyce played on the mind of a search and rescue leader tracking a tramper lost in a forest park.

Nelson man Philip Young was rescued from the Mount Richmond Forest Park almost two months after Boyce's red Holden ute was found in the same park.

Marlborough Land Search and Rescue chairman Peter Hamill said search teams kept an eye out for any clues to Boyce's disappearance when looking for the 65-year-old Young last week. He was found after two days suffering from hypothermia and is recovering in Nelson Hospital.

'We were definitely looking for all kinds of clues. We were keen to make sure we got a result … but we were not keener than we were when [searching for] Jess as well,' Hamill said.

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Young wrote 'Phil Help' in the ground for search teams to find.

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Boyce was last seen on March 19, driving her mother's ute. Two hikers found the vehicle abandoned near Lake Chalice, in the forest park, on March 22, and called police.

Police and LandSAR searched the forest park and its huts when the red Holden was found, but suspended their efforts on March 26 until more information came forward.

Two members from Nelson LandSAR revisited the forest park in their own time earlier this month, but no official searches had been held since efforts were suspended.

The Mount Richmond Forest Park spans over 100,000 hectares.

Boyce's cousin Aaron Goodwin, who was back in Dunedin, said he and his partner marked two months since her disappearance by placing photos around their home.

'It's so we can see her around the house. Some of them are of Jess and I, and some of them are of Jess by herself. We light a candle by them now and again,' he said.

Goodwin said Marlborough family members had acknowledged the date quietly at home.

Hamill said it was a 'random coincidence' two people had gone missing in the same forest park in two months.

LandSAR members search the rugged and steep terrain of the forest park.

He said people could get 'lost anywhere and anyhow.

'We've had people in the past who've been lost close together. It's one of those random Murphy's Law things,' Hamill said.

Department of Conservation (DOC) tracks were well signed, and leaving them meant a higher risk of becoming lost, he said.

DOC South Marlborough operations manager Phil Bradfield said the forest park was about 100,000 hectares of rugged and steep terrain.

He said a lot of people doing the Te Araroa Trail, which ran from Cape Reinga to Bluff, felt the forest park was the hardest part of the trail.

'It's a very large expanse of remote and wild terrain. Anyone venturing into the park needs to be very prepared and very experienced,' he said.

Written signage was present at the beginning of all tracks and at track junctions. There were also 'plenty' of orange markers along trails, and paths were maintained and obvious, he said.

'If you know how to use a GPS, a map and a compass, then you'll never get lost. But for people who aren't experienced or are poorly equipped, it's a lot easier,' Bradfield said.

Marlborough area prevention manager Senior Sergeant Peter Payne, who headed the search for Young, said the tramper became 'disorientated' after he got ahead of his walking group near the Devils Creek Hut area on the Wakamarina Track.

Two hikers found the red ute Jessica Boyce took to Lake Chalice, in the forest park, on March 22.

Young was reported missing on Thursday afternoon.

A missing person's poster of Boyce at Watery Mouth Cafe, in Blenheim.

During his two days alone, Young walked to Foster's Clearing, made an arrow on the ground with sticks and wrote 'Phil Help'.

'He made a good decision to go below the bush line when it got cold … but one of the things he hasn't done is stay still.

'When separated, lost or disorientated, stay where you are.'

Young travelled to an area already cleared by search and rescue teams, which made things 'difficult' for those looking for him, and could have led to a worse outcome, Payne said.

Search teams would have revisited the area on Sunday if Young had not been found on Saturday morning, he said.

Young was found off a track on Saturday about noon by a canyoning team. He had hypothermia and was unable to walk. He was winched out of the park and taken to Nelson Hospital.

A Nelson Marlborough District Health Board (NMDHB) spokeswoman said on Monday that Young was in a stable condition and did not want to speak to media.

Payne urged people heading into the bush to let someone know where they were tramping, and to pack a map, compass, warm clothing, extra food and a GPS device.

The website 'Help Find Jess' was set up by Boyce's family last month so people could write in anonymously.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Blenheim police on 03 578 5279. Alternatively, anonymous tips can be passed on to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.