Police find sunken vehicle in search for missing pair

Missing 11 year old Mike Zhao-Beckenridge.

Police searching for a missing 11-year-old boy and his stepfather have gone back into the water at Curio Bay in Southland, where they have found a vehicle earlier identified by underwater camera.

Mike Zhao-Beckenridge, 11, and John Beckenridge have been missing since March 1, and police have been searching the bay since pieces of Mr Beckenridge's car washed up last week.

A police spokesman said a break in the conditions yesterday afternoon had allowed police divers to enter the water.

The vehicle, first identified by underwater camera on Friday, was consistent with the washed-up car parts, leading police to believe it was Mr Beckenridge's Volkswagen Touareg.

"At this stage, a very partial search in difficult conditions was unsuccessful in gaining any further information about what is in the vehicle," the spokesman said.

"Until police are able to confirm this by extracting the vehicle from the water, which may take some time due to the difficulty in doing this, police will continue to conduct inquiries."

Southland area commander Inspector Kelvin Lloyd earlier said he hoped the vehicle was a red herring and Mike and his stepfather were safe and well somewhere.

Mike is 1.65m tall, of solid build and of Asian descent. Mr Beckenridge is 1.75m tall, of medium build and of Swedish descent.

He is also known as John Robert Lundh, Knut Goran Roland Lundh or John Bradford.