Third time unlucky for tourist trio

Eva Engler (left), Romy Wild and Ilse Gansdorfer with their recovered van. Picture / Brett Phibbs

Three European tourists whose van was stolen and found three times in a week are unimpressed with the New Zealand police who failed to let them know it had finally been recovered.
Eva Engler and Romy Wild from Germany and Ilse Gansdorfer from Austria featured in the Weekend Herald after their van was stolen during the Auckland rush-hour, found by police the next night, then stolen again.

A week later they finally have the van back but virtually all their uninsured possessions, worth thousands of dollars, had been taken.

The vehicle's windows are all smashed, it has been tagged and the tyres have been deflated.

The 19-year-olds are unhappy at police tardiness in letting them know of developments.

The van was originally found in Glen Innes but by the time a tow truck arrived to retrieve it, it was gone. A couple of days later a truck driver spotted the van, and their possessions in a nearby reserve, and found the girls' number in a diary.

There was no sign of the van when they got there. It finally surfaced in a Mt Eden tow yard. However, the tourists didn't learn its whereabouts until they approached police, who laughed when they took them to inspect their battered van yesterday.

Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said the northern communications centre might have made an error. The case is being investigated.