Canine cop devastated at lost dog

Constable Mike Wakefield and his dog Thames at an earlier Wairarapa Police Pay Parade. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

A devastated police dog handler has returned to the rugged Tararua Ranges amid warnings of heavy weather to track down his dog that vanished in the mountains two days ago.

Senior Sergeant Mark Davidson, officer in charge of the Wellington police dog section, said Wairarapa Constable Mike Wakefield, who is also a volunteer firefighter in the region, had been keen to speak publicly about the help and support he and his fellow searchers had received since Thames disappeared.

A press conference set down for this morning involving Mr Wakefield had been cancelled and he had instead struck out again for the mountains, Mr Davidson said.

"Last night he was saying he wanted to talk to the locals because of the support there's been over here for him and Thames. But this morning he was not really in a fit condition, he was awful. That's why we bunged him back up there to keep searching."

"His wife this morning was tearful and his kids. Because it's a pet you know. When the dog's not working, he's under your feet getting in to trouble and trying to find food, like any pet. He's a member of the family."

The three-year-old sable-coloured german shepherd had been working with a search and rescue team on a day-long exercise when he became parted from his handler in the Totara Creek to Red Creek area at Mt Holdsworth on Sunday afternoon.

"He was working with the team down a really hard spur and it's unknown how, but he just got separated. The terrain was rough and visibility was bad."

Mr Davidson said a team of eight volunteers including Mr Wakefield and two other dog handlers were today scouring the area where Thames was last sighted.

Two more dog handlers were patrolling roads near the popular tramping area and Senior Constable Tony Matheson, head of Wairarapa LandSAR, will camp in the mountains tonight in hopes of Thames finding his way to him.

Searchers were relying on the dog being attracted to their scent and despite the "outside chance" the animal had been injured in a fall, Mr Davidson remained confident Thames could still walk out hungry but otherwise healthy in seven days' time or more.

He said the threat of heavy weather hitting the area tomorrow night could mean the search will be scaled down or called off tomorrow morning.

"We could sustain the search for a while yet but it depends on what's sensible and what's realistic. Tomorrow is just not realistic, not with the weather looking like it is."