Missing teen's father: she's smiling now

The father of a teenager believed dead after a car plunged 140m into a river north of Wanganui last week says she always "lived on the edge".

Nicole Davis, 18, of Wanganui, one of two girls still missing after the crash into the Mangawhero River on Wednesday that killed two young men, was remembered at a service in the city yesterday.

"She did everything at high speed, life including. She basically lived on the edge and wouldn't have it any other way," said her father, Wally Davis.

Although he believed "she'll be smiling now", Nicole's family would never recover from her death.

"I don't think it'll ever heal, not with a child, you know, who's only just started life," he told One News.

The second girl, a 17-year-old friend, has yet to be named.

Their bodies have not been found despite searches of the river and the area south of Raupu Bridge.

The official police search has been stood down but will be reviewed daily. A search by family members continues.

Police divers on Thursday found a Mitsubishi car and two occupants, 25-year-old Russell William Turner, of Taumarunui, and Steffan Whatitua Robinson, 17, of Ratana.

It appeared the car had drifted off the road before going through a wooden barrier, hitting a retaining wall and then heading down a cliff into the river.

- NZPA