KEY POINTS:
A 17-year-old youth who is feared drowned after jumping into the Waikato River to escape police was seen struggling in the cold, fast-flowing waters by a friend.
The friend, also 17, swam 200m to the other side of the river in the dark after he and the missing youth jumped off a jetty at Ngaruawahia early yesterday.
The youths had been pursued by police after allegedly breaking into a house in Hamilton just before 4am and fleeing in a stolen car. Police said the pair drove the 19km north to Ngaruawahia at up to 130km/h.
Followed by three patrol vehicles, they pulled into a reserve where the Waikato and Waipa rivers meet and sprinted along the low-lying jetty and into the water.
Police divers began searching for the missing youth yesterday afternoon after earlier efforts to find him failed.
The surviving youth, a Ngaruawahia local, was found by police 25 minutes after the pair were seen jumping into the river.
He was cold but uninjured, and now faces appearing in Hamilton District Court on three charges of burglary, one of stealing a motor vehicle and several others for driving offences.
Western Waikato area commander Inspector Russell Le Prou last night said the missing youth had likely drowned but there remained a chance he would be found alive.
"There's two possibilities," Mr Le Prou said.
"I'm still hoping he'll be sitting in a lounge somewhere in front of a fire for his family's sake, and for the police's sake, I'd love him to come forward if that's the case."
Mr Le Prou said the surviving youth had seen his friend in difficulty in the water.
"He's seen him struggling and he's called out to him but we still can't confirm whether he's got out."
The survivor had made it across the river in a heavy Swanndri jacket, ending up diagonally opposite the jetty after being pushed downstream by a swift current.
"He was very cold and tired by the time he got out," Mr Le Prou said.
The incident began when the occupants of a house in Pohutukawa Ave, Hamilton, heard someone walking around in their garage and called police.
Armed with a description of a stolen Toyota Rav4 seen near the house, police arrived in the area and tried to stop the vehicle.
However, it sped off and a pursuit began involving three patrol cars carrying seven officers, including a dog handler.
At 4am, the police northern communications centre was told by officers that two people had abandoned the Rav4 and jumped into the river.
Six minutes earlier, the centre had issued a mandatory warning to the patrol cars to abandon pursuit if conditions became dangerous.
Mr Le Prou said the chase had continued uninterrupted from Hamilton to Ngaruawahia and he was "entirely comfortable" with the actions of the officers involved.
"The speeds were up to 130km/h and the pursuit was conducted in light traffic [and] good conditions."
A search was begun after the youths jumped off the jetty and a Fire Service rescue boat mobilised from Huntly at 4.08am. The aluminium craft was launched at Waingaro Rd in Ngaruawahia and combed waters downstream of the jetty for about an hour.
About 20 volunteer firefighters from Ngaruawahia and Huntly also helped police search the riverbanks. Officers soon found the surviving youth.
Huntly fire chief Craig Bush said the water search was complicated by cold weather and darkness.
"Searching by torchlight and spotlight is really all we can do in the dark," he said.
Ngaruawahia fire chief Marty Kampman said: "One of the biggest problems along our river here is the willows and the undergrowth, and a fairly swift current."
Mr Kampman said the weather was not as cold as it had been, but was still below 10C and river levels were higher than a couple of weeks ago.
The family of the missing youth gathered at the river yesterday and became angry when approached by television camera operators and a newspaper photographer.
