His mother is desperate for answers and details of the search, and she needs help coming to New Zealand to be near her only son.
He was here on a working holiday visa, and it was his dream to travel the world after finishing school.
The search for the missing Argentine hiker in remote South Island wilderness has turned up a number of his personal belongings along the river bank.
Hector Gaston Artigau, 21, of Argentina, was last seen a week ago after he fell from a rock and into a river during a tramping trip in Mt Aspiring National Park.
Artigau was on the Rob Roy Glacier Track when the accident happened around 4.30pm on Thursday.
Hiking partners Santiago Ponce and Blas, whose surname was not provided, suddenly lost sight of Artigau. They then spotted his hat floating in the river and began screaming for help.
Police this morning said the search remained ongoing, and said the effort had been hampered by extreme hazards and low visibility in the last two days.
The search was briefly suspended on Tuesday afternoon due to the difficulties teams were having.
The Police National Dive Squad and the Wānaka LandSAR Swift Water Rescue Team would be searching an area of the canyon where he went missing today. They were using an underwater camera and light equipment.
Police said they had found a number of his personal items caught along the river into which he fell.
Hector Gaston Artigau (centre), 21, of Argentina, has been missing since last Thursday.
Mum holding out hope from other side of globe
His mother, Adriana Colamarde, was desperate for details about the search effort and wanted support to urgently travel here.
A fundraising effort was started by his New Zealand employer’s daughter to help Colamarde. It has so far raised $12.500.
Artigau is Colamarde’s sole child. She was anxious to travel to New Zealand to be nearer her son. They are from Pergamino, a small city in Buenos Aires Province.
His English teacher, Andina Kallenbach, told the Herald his mother was struggling to cope with being so far from her son, but was hoping he would be found alive. Kallenbach also shared details about Artigau.
Kallenbach said it was Artigau’s dream to travel the world and New Zealand was the first place he wanted to go. He had been on a working holiday visa since last September.
Kallenbach said of Colamarde: “She is getting desperate and we need government help, it’s not something that we can do by ourselves.
“Nobody deserves having a son in this situation and being so far, and nobody deserves going through not having your family there if you’re found alive and injured.”
Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.
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