Man who drove off cliff now believed dead

A search and rescue team prepare to abseil down a cliff near where the car was driven through a barrier into the Kaimai Ranges. Picture / Nicola Topping

Police believe a man who drove off a 250m summit on the Kaimai Ranges last month and that he is now dead.

Te Paewhenau Roberts, 53, drove his work van off a cliff at the summit of the ranges between the Waikato and Tauranga on November 30.

Police believe he survived the crash and deliberately avoided rescuers and follow-up searches.

More than 50 people, along with search and rescue dogs, spent a week searching for Mr Roberts of Te Puke.

Sergeant Graham McGurk, of Matamata police, said search co-ordinators were considering sending a cadaver dog back into the bush.

"It's a short time-frame to operate in. Once the body releases body gases you've only got a couple of days before it starts decomposing."

Various theories had emerged about what had happened to Mr Roberts.

One had him faking his own death, leaping from the van moments before it plunged down the cliff.

But Mr McGurk said evidence at the scene showed Mr Roberts was in the van when it crashed through the barrier.

Other reports of an injured man seen limping along the road hours later were investigated and eliminated from the inquiry.

Police believe Mr Roberts deliberately drove off the cliff.

Fulton Hogan workers said that Mr Roberts had been working on building a bridge barrier near Oropi, about 20km south of Tauranga, and had been arguing the night before the crash.

"We know why he did it, but will not be commenting any further," Senior Sergeant Ross Ardern, of Morrinsville police, said last week.

A spokeswoman for Mr Roberts' family, who asked not to be named, said the family had not given up hope he would be found.

"You hope for the best, but we understand the realities," she said.

- NZPA