Mike Zhao-Beckenridge went missing on March 13. Photo / Supplied
Mike Zhao-Beckenridge went missing on March 13. Photo / Supplied
Locals in the remote Catlins area who saw John Beckenridge in the days before he disappeared with his 11-year-old stepson are adamant the pair are alive and have probably fled the deep south.
Mr Beckenridge, 64, was captured on security cameras paying for supplies in cash in the days after he took Mike Zhao-Beckenridge from James Hargest College's junior school in Invercargill on March 13.
Over the next week, the pair were spotted driving around the Catlins, southeast of Invercargill, and seen camping in tents and in the back of the Swedish-born pilot's dark-blue Volkswagen Touareg.
John Beckenridge.
Locals also told of a van being driven at night with its lights off about the time the pair disappeared.
Farmer Colin McDonald saw them on his property near the southernmost tip of the South Island, Slope Pt, on March 16 - two days before police issued a public missing persons plea for help.
About the same time, they were seen getting supplies at tiny Tokanui.
Kevin Millard of Tokanui General Store said he served Mr Beckenridge and the youngster on March 16.
Mr Beckenridge, who has a $1 million house in Queenstown, then filled up with fuel at the Tokanui Service Centre next door.
Garage owner Adam Miller said his CCTV system captured the exchange. The footage has been taken away by police who refused a request from NZME News Service to view it.
He remembers Mr Beckenridge acting calmly and didn't notice anything untoward.
However, when he reviewed the footage, he saw signs of a man on the run. "You can see him chatting away, but he's very aware that he was exposed, with hat and glasses, and jacket pulled up."
Police recovered the wreckage of John Beckenridge's car - but there were no clues. Photo / Otago Daily Times
There were further confirmed sightings of the pair in bush in the Slope Pt and Curio Bay areas on March 21 and 22. Police found four camp sites, with tents left behind.
On March 20, Mr Beckenridge sent "goodbye" texts to friends, his lawyer and former wife.
Sometime over the next 24 hours, Mr Beckenridge's car went over an 88m cliff near Curio Bay - a remote spot notorious for rough seas.
A missing persons alert went out the day Mike Zhao-Beckenridge disappeared and border alerts were issued within 24 hours, police say.
It took six weeks to recover the vehicle from the wild cove's crashing waves. Police found "no signs of human remains" in the car.
Mr Beckenridge is believed to have several aliases, including John Locke, John Robert Lundh, Knut Goran Roland Lundh and John Bradford. Friends believed he faked his and Mike's deaths.
Police, who have referred the case to the coroner, are still treating it as missing persons case.
This week, a police spokesman said they were still receiving potential sightings from across New Zealand, including one in Canterbury. Officers have ruled them all out. An aviation expert and top criminologist have both said it would be possible to flee New Zealand undetected.
The Volkswagen Touareg car owned by John Beckenridge. Photo / Supplied NZ Police
Dozens of Catlins locals spoken to by NZME News Service believe the pair have fled the area.
"You can't hide in New Zealand. You have to get out of the country," Mr Millard said. "He's not hiding out round here. There's too many hunters and people that would've come over them. All the houses are pretty well known."
