women missing, kapakapanui area
http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/search-and-rescue-operation-launched-missing-women-photo
Central District Police seeking information about two missing women have begun a search and rescue operation after their vehicle was discovered at the entrance of the Kapakapanui Track, in the Tararua Forest Park near Waikanae earlier this evening.
Police are appealing to anyone who may have recently seen mother and daughter Carolyn and Rachel LLoyd, aged 45 and 22 respectively, who may be tramping in the area, or anyone who may have seen their vehicle, a silver Toyota Yaris hire car, registration DLZ 347.
The pair were due to check out of their Palmerston North Motel on 27th April.
They were also expected to return their rental vehicle at 11 am this morning.
Carolyn is visiting from the US to see her daughter who is a student at Massey university.
Family members, the rental company and the motel have not heard from either of the women.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Carolyn or Rachel, or who may have seen their vehicle should contact Palmerston North Police on 06 351 2535.
42 comments
Does anyone have a list of previous incidents in the Kapakapanui vicinity? I know it has a reputation, but I can't find much specific.
In October 2011, these two people somehow accidentally turned the wrong way off the top and ended up on the Waiotauru Track. http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5844664/Day-tramp-becomes-cold-night-in-the-bush
That article references "a mother and son" getting lost and dying a couple of years earlier, but there's no more specific reference than that and I can't find one.
i remember reading years ago about a mother and son who got lost off the kapakapanui track, they were found dead. cant recall but i think they were just out for a day walk and werent equipped to be out for the night. from memory the weather wasnt warm, cant recall if it had been raining. can't recall exactly how long it was from when they were reported missing to when they were found, my memory tells me it was a few days rather than weeks.
i can't recall what the trigger was for them being reported overdue.
last time up there was several years ago. followed the track ok, recall odd gap between markers
DOC standard for track marking is something like - "see next marker from the other". sometimes that's not necessary, if track direction is obvious
But if people are getting lost because of marking, then its an issue for DOC to sort out. Seems their marking isn't up to "standard"
Not everyone knows how to navigate in the bush, especially on tracks used for day trips, like Kapakapanui, so marking can be important for some users
this was just posted on the facebook page of the helicopter company, Amalgamated Helicopters, that was used in the rescue, shows the riverbed of where they were found.
looks pretty flat. did they stop because they ran out of energy in the end?
http://tramper.nz/16123/
That is an easy track to follow. A couple of ladies got lost on it a couple years ago.
I read that they stopped because after the ordeal they'd had until that point and the condition they were in, they'd finally found a place with sunshine where they could actually wait and be seen, etc. They were there for some time having stopped, so if they'd continued for another hour then perhaps nobody would ever have even heard about the incident.
Also, I found a clearer reference for the mother/son incident. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=141087 followed by http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=141342 , and an inquest: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=180198 It was in June 2000, so *much* more than the "couple of years earlier" that was referenced from that 2011 article.
problem is, they didnt know where they were, chances are if they realised how close they were to the car maybe the mother at least would have gone to the road end to raise help. but it sees they didnt now which direction they were heading in and they'd gotten to the point where energy conservation became a bigger issue, it mentions the daughter couldnt move and her mother had been carrying her over rough terrain
Hey @madpom, or anyone else who might know....
"Na. If they'd carried on down the stream another 900m they'd have hit the DOC track where it crosses the stream 5 times."
I've been re-reading the account at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11631804 which states that they'd tried to continue down-stream, but "the water got too deep", and so they turned around to find the clearing where they spent the final two nights.
Do you recall if there's anything around there resembling deep water? (Keeping in mind, I suppose, that with the state they were in they mightn't have been keen to get wet again at all.)
I have been from the road end right up to the headwaters. No major problems except for a few log jams. Certainly no deep pools, in fact I can't remember anything over knee deep. River levels were low right across the district when they were missing
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| Started by | waynowski |
| On | 29 April 2016 |
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