After hearing a woman was lost in the Northern Pureora Forest, Dominique Fortis took six days off work to search for her.
“She was missing in my back yard, in an area I have hunted for 30 years and where I’ve taken my family on hunting trips. I wanted to help any way I could,” Fortis said.
He credited the police and Land Search and Rescue for organising volunteers from all over the North Island who searched 2500 hours for the missing tramper.
“But the system could have been improved by showing more respect for, and involving people with local knowledge sooner. It’s a rugged area with huge trees, tangled undergrowth and giant boulders, you need people who know the lay of the land.
“Experienced hunters are comfortable looking off the tracks – I noticed many from outside the area kept to them. If we had involved locals with experience a lot sooner, we may have had a different outcome.”
See: Search group mooted
