Missing tycoon's family urge public support

Volunteers Mark Walker and Lynette Horn. Picture / Amos Chapple

The family of Michael Erceg are urging the public to support their privately funded search for the millionaire businessman and his Dutch companion, who went missing on a scenic helicopter flight almost a week ago.

The search for Mr Erceg and Guus Klatte will take separate paths today as the family focuses around Patea in the south Taranaki, while the national Rescue Coordination Centre returns to Mt Karioi near Raglan and Mokau, between Kawhia Harbour and New Plymouth.

Garry Major, a spokesman for the Erceg family, last night urged people to ring an 0800 number with any sightings or information.

"We feel that he is in the south Taranaki basin, around Lake Patea, and anybody in that area who has heard or seen a helicopter on that Friday if they can contact the 0800 number we've got," said Mr Major.

"Some of these people we have contacted have called the police, but that hasn't been passed on to us. Now this is a private search, we need as much of that information relayed back to us so that we can plot the trip that he has made."

Mr Major said the family was happy with the official search effort but "we can't expect the taxpayer to continue to pay to cover the whole of the country".

"We still think he's alive. We still think the helicopter's there."

Rescue Centre spokesman Steve Corbett last night asked the public to continue to contact the police but he expected the family would pass on any information given to the 0800 number.

"The reports we're getting in from the general public are dying off now."

Mr Corbett said the advantage of a national co-ordination centre was to collate all information and see "the big picture".

Hi-tech, cellphone-tracing equipment supplied by the Dutch police is also being used in the private search.

The technology, capable of detecting weak cellphone battery signals, had been supplied by the Dutch authorities and was carried on one of four helicopters that searched an area of Mt Karioi near Raglan yesterday.

Searchers will today again comb rugged bush in the area after the search focus returned there yesterday.

Four helicopters and 14 Search and Rescue workers scoured dense bush all afternoon until dark.

Rescuers hoped that Mr Erceg or his Dutch visitor would have enough power on their cellphones to emit a signal.

Search and Rescue co-ordinator Barry Were said the technology was "very Secret Squirrel". It was available only to Dutch police.

No trace of the missing pair has been found since they left Ardmore Airport last Friday to fly by helicopter to Queenstown.

Although searchers had yesterday considered ending the hunt, it will carry on at least for some hours this morning.

Faint signals from a beacon were reported on Tuesday, but attempts yesterday to confirm if one was going off, and pinpoint it, failed.

About 20,000sq km of the North Island has so far been searched, but Mr Corbett said rescuers had planned to scour a 50sq km area near Mt Karioi.

That had not been finished, and would be completed today.

Mr Corbett said the search would be assessed again after that. Decisions would be made on whether to resume searching at all, and if so, where.

The search had initially focused on the Raglan area but it has since headed south towards Wanganui, where Mr Erceg - a pilot for about two years - had planned to refuel.

The team on the ground near Raglan was yesterday directed to recheck about 80ha of bush on the eastern side of the mountain.

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