Frustrations are expected to be aired at a public meeting attended by some of the hikers and hunters who aided the search for an Auckland hiker who disappeared in Pureora Forest on March 23.
Experienced hiker Judy Donovan,79, is presumed dead after becoming separated from a group of volunteers laying bait in the northern part of the forest. Her remains have not been found.
Experienced hunter Dominique Fortis, left, with Ngaroma farm owner Allen Juno. Juno is holding EPIRB and GPS units which he says each member of the tramping party should have been carrying. Photo: Paul Charman
A meeting to discuss matters arising from the tragedy will be held next Wednesday in Waitomo.
The initial eight-day-search for Donovan was coordinated by the police and Land Search and Rescue, with support from volunteers but it failed to find any sign of the missing hiker.
Last month a farmer whose property was used as a base for the search, Allen Juno, and a hunter who took part in it, Dominique Fortis, called for improvements in search and rescue policy to help to prevent a future tragedy.
They argued that locals with knowledge of the area should have been encouraged to search for Donovan the first few hours, as this represented her best chance of survival in the extremely cold conditions.
Juno said the police search and rescue do a great job but are increasingly hampered by health and safety rules, privacy regulations and shrinking budgets.
At the meeting he intends to gauge support for a rapid response group, formed from volunteers with experience of local bush conditions.
“This could be deployed at short notice to assist Police and Land Search and Rescue (SAR),” Juno said.
“These people will have local knowledge and experience, will be able to work with police and SAR.”
Judy Donovan “was a fit, agile, capable and practical 79-year-old retired businesswoman and lifestyle block farmer”.
Juno said forming such a group would address concerns and frustration of public and land SAR members current former, including:
That experienced locals were stood down on Saturday night (Donovan went missing) and subsequent times during the search.
A perceived lack of transparency and communication.
Lack of media both traditional and social coverage – police did not release the location of the search area to the media.
Offers of help from experienced locals who knew the area being declined
A late update of the fact that a call was made by Judy Donvan from her mobile on the Saturday night she went missing.
“This meeting will not be a blame game but rather a chance to see how we can assist in the future,” Juno said.
“We cannot ask questions of the police but they will be invited to volunteer what information they can within the Privacy and Health and Safety Act.”
The matter was first aired in the King Country News in a carefully worded letter from Judy Donovan’s daughter, Nic.
She wrote to thank locals for their dedication in searching for her mother, but also pointed out that the police had to curtail the search on the first day.
This was due to the fact that the officer responsible for radio communications had to go off duty as he had already worked eight hours.
Juno said a group of local volunteers could complement future search efforts in the area. Not only did they know the lay of the land (in Pureora Forest), but they also would not need to be constrained by regulations, including the Privacy Act, Health and Safety and a lack of resources police faced due to shrinking budgets.
Experienced hunter Dominique Fortis, left, with Ngaroma farm owner Allen Juno.
