KEY POINTS:
Rescue teams in the Avoca Valley in Canterbury set out at first light today to continue the search for a hunter who has been missing for four nights.
It rained overnight in the valley south of Christchurch where Ashburton man Corey James Foster, 24, set out on Sunday.
He was due to return the same day, but told his fiancee to call for help if he had not returned by noon on Monday.
New searchers arrived today, with volunteers from Arthur's Pass, Oxford, Christchurch and Methven joining Christchurch police and search dog handlers.
A defence force Iroquois helicopter was also canvassing the area.
Mr Foster was an experienced tramper equipped with waterproof gear and a survival blanket, his family said yesterday.
Sergeant Peter Summerfield said searchers were reasonably confident Mr Foster was not out in the open.
"Aerial searchers would have spotted him by now. We are concentrating on bush areas and places he could have somehow become concealed," he said.
More rain and cold, strong winds are expected tonight, along with a drop in temperature to a low of 0C.
- NZPA
