Station wagon driver may be key to hitchhiker killing

The German tourist found murdered in Taranaki was a young woman from Dresden who had been in the country for a few months.

Birgit Brauer, thought to be about 28, was on a working holiday. Her family learned from Interpol last night that she was dead.

Police say finding the driver of a dark-coloured four-wheel-drive station wagon - the last person known to have been seen with her - may be the key to tracing Ms Brauer's last movements.

They are also interested in identifying two men seen drinking at a hotel about 20 minutes' drive south of where her body was found, and yesterday spent time questioning patrons at the Stony River Hotel about them.

Ms Brauer may have spent Monday night in Wanganui. Her body was found by a jogger near Lucys Gully in Egmont National Park, 17km southwest of New Plymouth, on Tuesday evening.

She had been stabbed, although police have not said if this caused her death.

About 30 officers from New Plymouth and Wanganui are working on the case.

The head of New Plymouth CIB, Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward, said police had received many reports from people who had seen a woman hitch-hiking on the day of the killing.

"As a result of these sightings, it is clear to police that there was more than one hitch-hiker on the road between Wanganui and New Plymouth on Tuesday, so we are appealing to female hitch-hikers or hitch-hikers of any nationality to come forward. Mr Coward warned the killer: "We will find you.

"This was a vicious and callous attack. It is shocking to all investigating the case, it is a shock to the public and to all of New Zealand."

Ms Brauer was about 175cm tall, with black, shoulder-length hair.

She was wearing blue denim jeans, a green top and possibly a windbreaker jacket.

She wore tramping boots and would have had two dark-coloured backpacks - one large, one small.

Malcolm Perry and his stepson saw her on Tuesday morning as they left Waitotara. They waved as she sat on the side of State Highway 3. She grinned and waved back.

Ms Brauer had been picked up in Wanganui about 8.30am that day by a Waitotara farmer, Stuart Watson, who has told police he dropped her by the main road of the small South Taranaki town.

As he drove off, he warned her to be careful hitch-hiking.

She walked to a shop where she bought a bottle of water, then took up an offer to use the toilets in the adjoining hotel.

Waitotara Hotel owner Bill Hahn was cleaning when she returned from the bathroom and the pair chatted about how the weather was better than the previous day.

About 9.30am she headed back out towards the road. She farewelled Mr

Hahn and wished the woman working in the store a nice day.

"Lesley said back, 'You have a nice day'," Mr Hahn said.

It was then, while sitting on her backpack, that Ms Brauer waved to Mr Perry and his stepson.

Other Waitotara residents also recall seeing her waiting for a ride.

She was described as pretty - "good enough to turn your head", said one man.

Lucys Gully is a 90-minute drive away.

A long-term resident of Wave Haven backpackers, near where the body was found, doubts the killing could have occurred without someone noticing something suspicious.

Local resident Blair Argo said it was a busy place, with mountain bikers, tourists and people walking dogs, and it was hard to believe the murder could have occurred without being noticed.

- additional reporting NZPA