Ruapehu dead man hailed ‘a hero’
Man found dead in Crater Lake had saved child from drowning, writes David Burroughs.
AN adventurer who died after falling into Mt Ruapehu’s Crater Lake was hailed a hero after saving a young girl from drowning 16 years ago.
Friends have paid tribute to Richard Ebbett, 39, who went missing on Friday afternoon after heading up on to the Whakapapa skifield.
Due to bad weather at the time, police were unable to begin searching until yesterday when ground teams and helicopters were used to scour the mountain.
Ebbett’s family members joined the search party, and after a short search his body was located in the Mt Ruapehu Crater Lake. Police said it appeared he had slipped and fallen into the lake and his death has been referred to the coroner.
‘‘It is an absolute tragedy for this man’s family,’’ said Senior Sergeant Grant Alabaster.
Friend Nick Enstrom said he had known Ebbett through motocross and described him as knowledgeable and helpful. ‘‘We couldn’t have lost a nicer, more helpful guy. Our motocross community will have a huge missing piece.’’
Ebbett attended Palmerston North Boys’ High School, and owned the Moto SR Motorcycle Dealership in Ta¯upo.
In 2001, he was credited with saving a young girl from drowning.
Ebbett had been in the back of his brother’s van after a motocross event in Kawhia when a tractor in front of them, which was towing a trailer with four children on it, careered across the road and crashed into a ditch.
‘‘I could see this tractor in the ditch and the trailer upsidedown,’’ he said at the time. ‘‘I jumped out while the van was still going. I just ran down to get the kids out.’’
The driver, George Philip Tooman, 48, was killed instantly while the trailer trapped two of the children, and an 18-month-old girl was thrown face-down into a drain. Ebbett freed the two trapped children, then spotted the youngest in the ditch and pulled her out.
Police said the toddler would have died without his quick action.
Yesterday, Kerri Hedley said Ebbett was a down-to-earth, genuine guy.
‘‘He would always be chatty at motocross and so friendly to all,’’ she said.
‘‘He was a big supporter of my brother at motocross events and alway helped him out when needed. He will be sorely missed at motocross events. This is such a tragedy.’’
A friend of Ebbett’s, who asked to remain anonymous, said it seemed likely he had fallen in to the crater lake after removing his skis to access a popular viewing point.
‘‘There is a very prominent ice layer beneath the snow – I suspect from recent rain – and it is possible he may have lost footing in ski boots and ended up on the crater lake,’’ the friend said.
‘‘I was near the scene about the time they were planning the recovery but was having difficulty myself with the ice layer just beneath the snow surface. They said visibility was poor at the time.’’
In an interview with the Taupo Times in 2013, Ebbett told how he moved from Whakatane to Taupo to fulfil his love of motocross.
‘‘I’ve been in the industry for 17 years, racing at national level which truly developed my passion, then for the last eight years in business,’’ he said.