KEY POINTS:
A pillow found on the side of the road near Ruatapu could hold the clue to the whereabouts of missing Cromwell woman Jessica Roberts.
The 28-year-old woman left her home during a family gathering at Cromwell on Saturday morning and was next spotted driving erratically near Franz Josef Glacier at 6.20pm that evening.
Her father, Rian Roberts, said there had been an unconfirmed sighting of her dark blue Nissan Cefiro saloon car near Hokitika on Sunday night.
"A bus driver saw a dark blue car parked on the side of the road on State highway 6 (near Ruatapu, 12km southest of Hokitika). We are hoping that it could be her."
Constable Peter Jefferies, of Greymouth police, said the bus driver had spotted the car in a layby about midnight on Sunday. A pillow was left behind on the side of the road, and police were working to identify who it belonged to.
"We may be able to confirm it belongs to Jessica. We have police driving State Highway 73 to Christchurch, the road to Punakaiki and to Reefton. She can't really go any further if she hasn't filled up with petrol since Wanaka," Mr Jefferies said.
Mr Roberts has been concentrating his own search further south after a couple believed they had seen his daughter near Jacob's River, near Bruce Bay, about 8pm on Saturday.
"We are now wondering if she is in the Haast area. It makes sense as she seems to have lost her Eftpos card and may be heading back to look for it."
Yesterday, he hired a helicopter to scour the state highway from Fox Glacier to Haast.
"There is a heavy rain warning for today, but hope fully it can hold off and we can get back in the air this morning."
Mr Roberts said his sons were in South Westland distributing posters and talking to businesses in the area.
"You have to be proactive and keep pushing things forward. If anyone has any information, please let the police know."
He has asked all Westland businesses, especially pubs, to be on the lookout for Ms Roberts as she was "highly likely" to come looking for cigarettes.
The last confirmed sighting of her was at the Fox Glacier petrol station about 7pm on Saturday, when she asked to make a phone call and to buy cigarettes, only to discover she had lost her Eftpos card and had no money.
Mr Jefferies appealed to members of the public to keep an eye out for Ms Roberts or her car.
She is believed to be wearing dark blue trousers, a lime green singlet-type top with a symbol on the front, either a cream or green cap, red rimmed glasses and a thin, knee length black and white chequered coat. She is described as European, 175cm tall, of medium build with brown curly hair. Her car's registration is UH9394.
- NZPA
