KEY POINTS:
The two men who spent five hours kidnapping, robbing and assaulting a young Dutch couple in the Far North used clothing to mask their faces.
The traumatised newlyweds, who have not been identified, told police they were accosted by the men about 10pm on Friday while staying overnight
in their campervan in a carpark at Haruru Falls, about 5km from Paihia, in the Bay of Islands.
They were held at gunpoint in the white 1988 Toyota Hiace while being driven around the Bay of Islands and Kawakawa areas.
The woman was reportedly raped during the ordeal, but investigation head Detective Sergeant Mike Pannett would yesterday confirm only "an element of a sexual assault".
The men took property from the couple and tried to take money from their bank accounts using ATMs, Mr Pannett said.
Inquiries were still being made last night with banks overseas, and he was not able to say how much money, if any, was taken.
The two abductors fled, abandoning the victims and their campervan on the roadside at Towai, about 20km south of Kawakawa, early on Saturday morning.
The couple walked to a nearby house for help and alerted police.
Mr Pannett said it was hard to determine exact details of the two men because of the disguises they wore.
But their knowledge of the area would suggest they were locals.
"They clearly have a strong knowledge of the Bay of Islands area and our [search] efforts are focused on the whole of the mid-North," he said.
This includes the Waitangi, Paihia, Haruru Falls, Kawakawa and Towai areas.
He said the victims had asked that their privacy be respected and that no details of their identity be released.
"We're getting a high level of compassion and offers to assist them in calls from the public," Mr Pannett said.
It is understood the couple were warned a week earlier about the dangers of staying in free camping areas, but like many tourists thought New Zealand was a safe country.
Bream Bay petrol station attendant Dion Gee said the young couple stopped for fuel while travelling north from Auckland last Sunday.
While Mr Gee filled the tank the couple asked if there were any free places to stay.
"I said, 'Anywhere that is free is probably not safe'. They just kind of laughed but I said, 'Seriously, New Zealand is not as safe as it is probably made out to be'."
The couple, whom he described as "polite, really nice people", headed north and Mr Gee didn't think about them again until reading in a newspaper about the attack.
It is not known if the couple plan to stay in New Zealand but a spokesman for the Netherlands Embassy in Wellington said assistance would be offered if the pair decided to go home.
The spokesman said he spoke with the husband on Saturday, but the man said he and his wife were being taken care of and did not need any assistance at that stage. He hoped to speak to him again today.
Far North Mayor Yvonne Sharp said last night that the young couple had her deepest sympathy.
"We value our tourists. We don't expect anything like this to happen to visitors in the Far North."
Meanwhile, police are advising people camping in tents or campervans in the Bay of Islands to use designated camping grounds.
They want to hear from anyone who might have been in the Haruru Falls visitors' carpark last Friday night or seen the victims' white campervan in the wider Bay of Islands area that night.
The number to call is (09) 4052966.
- Additional reporting Elizabeth Binning
