The phone of missing West Coast tramper Roy Arbon was active in an open area just 12 minutes before a search helicopter flew over the exact location without spotting any sign of him, authorities say.
Other trampers in the same route in the same direction also didn’t report seeing any sign of the 75-year-old at the time, which has been deemed “really odd”.
Police today released more details on efforts to locate the missing Rūnanga man, who hasn’t been seen since July 23 when he left home for a walk in the hills.
Arbon left a handwritten note, police told 1News, that read: “Gone for walk. Mt Davy to Mt Sewell. Back tonight or tomorrow morning..”
He was seen later that morning heading from Rūnanga to the Mt Davy area on a red bike.
A “concerned neighbour raised the alarm at midday” the next day after finding the note, police said. Searchers have since been combing “every track Mr Arbon could have taken.”
It’s now been a week since Arbon was last seen and after heavy rain on the West Coast.
Phone located hours after missing persons report
Police released new information about the case today to 1News, including that Arbon’s phone had been located two hours after he was reported missing.
Investigators received the new “lead” on Monday, consisting of location information pinpointing the last known site the phone had been “pinged”.
Senior Sergeant Mark Kirkwood said the last time the phone was active was 2.39pm on July 24 — giving searchers a “place to focus”.
The data showed last Thursday “Arbon was in an open area”, roughly 1km north of Sewell Peak’s repeater and 2km south of Mount Davy, heading south.
On that day, 12 minutes after the phone pinged, a police sergeant happened to be flying over that precise location in a helicopter, taking video of the search area.
“When we reviewed the footage, we couldn’t find any sign of Mr Arbon in it. We know his phone was absolutely in that area, and we know the polling is right — you get perfect reception up there because you’re right by the repeater,” the senior sergeant said.
Kirkwood said the timing was all the more puzzling, given the terrain.
“In this area, you’re a good distance from the cover of bush, and it would’ve been a struggle for him to walk that far that fast,” he told 1News.
“We have spoken to two people who walked the same route in the same direction, and they didn’t see him. It’s really odd.”
‘Unusual’ absence of information
Kirkwood said days of “nothing” had followed a Herculean search effort — no definitive footprints, no discarded items, and no scent to track for search dogs.
He added that it wasn’t an easy or small search area but searchers had been hard at work, with more than 750 hours put in by ground teams alone.
“We’ve had 18 people in an extended line looking for anything that will lead us to him, but there’s been nothing, it’s unusual,” he said.
“The search team is pretty flat — we don’t like not being able to return someone home.”
Two search and rescue experts would now carry out a review of the search, on top of a police criminal investigation branch, Kirkwood said.
“Reviews are a normal part of the search process and are carried out by people who weren’t part of the initial search.”
Police added that fresh eyes might help turn up new leads.
‘We’re not giving up’
“We’ll be looking at the [telecommunications] data, the information that was called in by the public, where teams searched and what they found,” Kirkwood said.
“We’re looking at anything that will give us a lead. We want to bring Mr Arbon home and are doing everything we can to make that happen.
“If we still don’t have any leads in the coming weeks, we’ll be back out there with specialist search dogs – we’re not giving up.”
In his past, Arbon has been involved in multiple search and rescue missions, including assisting in the Mt Erebus and Cave Creek disasters. He was later the victim of a drug smuggling scam, which had him detained for a time in Australia.
Kirkwood thanked West Coast locals for helping with the gruelling and, as yet, fruitless search.
“The community response has been fantastic, locals have been offering us support and someone offered us the use of their helicopter. It’s been outstanding, as usual. People really care about each other.”
People with relevant information were urged to contact 105, referencing file 250725/2139.