Wheelchair no barrier to ride

A rural south Auckland road has become a focus in the search for missing Auckland man Denver Chance, pictured. Residents of Kingseat’s Irwin Rd said police had searched a section of the road on Sunday. One resident said it looked like the officers were using metal detectors and another said they were working to clear dense bush on the road side. Yesterday morning police were back, door knocking residents and searching a small block of pine trees. Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie said Chance’s phone data indicated he may have been in the area about 11pm on the night he went missing. ‘‘A large group of detectives are continuing to examine hours of CCTV footage to confirm his movements, and speak to all of Denver’s associates.’’ Earlier police said a car thought to be owned by Chance and spotted in Waihi may not have been his. A man extradited from New Zealand has pleaded not guilty to the cold-case murder of Adelaide man Robert Sabeckis. Paul Beveridge Maroroa, 44, entered his plea by video-link from prison in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday. Sabeckis, 42, was shot twice while sitting in his car at Maslin Beach, south of Adelaide, in January 2000. He was killed by a person wielding a stolen sawn-off shotgun. Maroroa was arrested in Auckland after his DNA allegedly matched a sample on the case file, before he was extradited to South Australia last March. Law changes in 2017 allowed South Australia police to cross-reference DNA samples with overseas jurisdictions. New Zealand law was also amended in 2016 to allow authorities to share information on New Zealand’s database. Maroroa was remanded in custody to reappear in court in April.

Avis Darnley’s last ride was a good one.With her wheelchair hitched to the bike ridden by her husband, John, the Ka¯piti woman spent her final days travelling the Otago high country.She died on Sunday, days after the couple returned home from the holiday, John said.‘‘I think she did that ride for me. That’s just who we were.’’ chiller box on the front, he had Avis and her wheelchair.The couple were often seen flying along the Waikanae cycle trails and in February they completed the Otago Central Rail Trail, a four-day journey that had long been on their bucket list.John pedalled throughout the days and the couple spent three nights staying along the Avis and John Darnley on the modified e-bike, designed by John. Avis died on Sunday. route; the gear John needed to care for Avis was driven from point to point by a tour company.Beneath the big Otago skies, Avis began shutting down.After the ride, as the pair drove further south to visit family, John’s ‘‘wonderful, vibrant wife’’ refused her medication. ‘‘She was tired and I