Yesterday the search for Trangmar stretched into its third day with local police upping their presence and the Waikato armed offenders squad and the Eagle helicopter joining the hunt.
Trangmar, who has a backwards swastika tattooed on his left cheek and an extensive criminal history, allegedly threatened his neighbour who caught him stealing a motorbike from his property on Sunday.
He punched the man before threatening him with a shotgun. He then returned with a steel bar and smashed several vehicles at the property and his neighbour's house.
Police searched several properties but were unable to find him.
Trangmar resurfaced on Monday when he allegedly stole a quad bike from an Otewa farm.
He rode it to a house on Ireland Rd where he threatened a woman with a firearm.
He then left the house and travelled 15km on the quad bike to Waitomo where Woodlyn Park owner Billy Black nearly ran him over.
"He had his lights off and I couldn't see him, I had to really swerve to miss him," he said.
Curly's bar co-owner Chris Diamond said three locals were enjoying a beer about 7pm on Monday when Trangmar walked in wearing a balaclava and what looked like a makeshift bullet-proof vest.
He said Trangmar, well-known locally, had been banned from the bar for two years after breaking windows and assaulting another patron.
"He walked in here, pulled out a gun, it was like a pirate pistol and Curly thought it was a joke," said Mr Diamond.
"He said give me your f ... money, I'm serious. Then he stepped back and fired a shot in to the roof.
Mr Diamond said the three men wrestled Trangmar to the ground and removed the gun from him.
"One of the guys jumped on him and they tried to subdue him but he was on P, they tried to keep him down but he was just too strong.
"It probably wasn't the wisest thing to do but the boys just didn't want to see Curly get hurt," he said.
An Otorohanga resident, who asked not to be named, said the three men all punched him repeatedly.
But Trangmar wriggled free and, wearing just his pants, jumped back on his quad bike and drove it up the stairs of the front of the bar and smashed into a window. He fled from the bar on the quad bike and has not been seen since.
Western Waikato area commander Inspector Paul Carpenter said the quad bike was recovered early yesterday morning by police not far from the bar.
He said police had searched several properties and set up cordons in the Waitomo area yesterday but were unable to find him. Mr Carpenter said Trangmar was a pig hunter and shearer who had a good knowledge of the area and had many associates, who could be housing him.
He asked that Trangmar take stock of the situation which had become "very, very serious".
"It is not too late to step back from what has occurred before anyone becomes hurt or worse, something that no one, not Te Rangi's family or police, wants to happen."
Mr Carpenter said he was likely to have access to firearms. He said residents should lock their doors and leave their lights on.
The Herald approached several people in Otorohanga and Waitomo who know Trangmar, all of whom were too afraid to be named.
One said he was concerned that Trangmar would "need his fix" and could show up anywhere looking for a vehicle or cash.
Another heard the gunshot on Sunday not realising Trangmar was at the time threatening their neighbour with a shotgun.
The person said Trangmar had only recently got out of prison.
He was terrified he may show up at their home.
"He's not the kind of guy you'd have around for a beer," the person said.
"I think it's going to end badly, I just hope no one innocent is hurt in all of this."
