Body found in search for man swept away by river

The man's vehicle was swept away in a tributary of the Grey River. File photo / Thinkstock

A body believed to be Jeremy Charles Brons has been recovered from the Grey River by police this afternoon.

The body was found about 1km downstream from where Mr Brons was last seen.

Mr Brons was the navigator in a four-wheel-drive trek that involved crossing the Upper Grey River, a couple of hundred metres away from Staircase Creek, near Waipuna.

He was in the lead of five vehicles trying to cross the river, swollen by rain, when his vehicle became stranded. As water poured into the cab, everyone climbed on to the roof but Mr Brons tied a rope around himself to try to make it to shore, but he was pulled under the water.

The Press reported that his companions, from Canterbury 4x4 Events, cut the rope when he failed to resurface, in the hope of giving him a chance of being washed to shore.

Canterbury 4x4 Events president Ash Sergeant, who was not on the expedition to the West Coast, said Mr Brons' main role as a navigator had been as an extra pair of eyes to look out for things the driver might not see.

Mr Sergeant travelled to the site yesterday. "The river was not what I would call excessively high, it was higher than normal ... but that river river goes up with the snap of a finger."

He was unable to say whether the conditions were safe to cross on Saturday, during the torrential rain.

"I cant make a call on whether it was a safe level, or not. They are all pretty well experienced guys, they have all got years of experience behind them, all got well set up vehicles. I would say the call they made would have been a well educated one."

He said it was more of a case of bad luck than being foolish.

Jeremy's father Timothy Brons told 3News that the last time he saw his son he was "grinning from ear to ear".

"Unfortunately I didn't even to get time to say goodbye to him because he was gone before I got home from work."