Otago Daily Times

Help sought in yearslong search

- SALLY MURPHY

CHRISTCHUR­CH: A family who have spent more than 10 years searching for a missing plane in the Canterbury high country are seeking help from mountainee­rs to get into the high terrain.

In 1962, a Dragonfly plane took off on a scenic flight from Christchur­ch to Milford Sound with five people on board, including a newlywed couple.

Despite one of the most extensive aerial searches in New Zealand history, the plane has not been found.

Filmmaker Bobby Reeve and his family have been looking for the Dragonfly since 2008.

Most summers they tramp up the Huxley River deep into the Brodrick Pass on the Main Divide, between Otago and Canterbury.

Talking to witnesses and friends of the pilot, Brian Chadwick, they believed they were in the right spot.

‘‘He would have known roughly whereabout­s he was and properly entered the cloud thinking he was high enough to get through the pass and he’s been off to one side or the other.

‘‘When you look at the area up there, it’s an area where nobody would go. Noone would just stumble across it.’’

Mr Reeve said the discovery of a woman’s boot in the remote location had led them to believe the plane was about 8000 feet (2440m) up, deep in the permanent snow.

‘‘I think if it had been in the bush the whole time it would be covered in moss — but it wasn’t, which is why I think it’s come down off the snow.’’

Mr Reeve, who turns 79 this year, said it had become a bit dangerous for the family to continue alone.

‘‘If we could sit down with people that we could trust — they would have to be mountainee­rs — then we could make a plan, point out what we’ve already done and take it from there.

‘‘If you know what you’re doing, you could get up there. It’s not dangerous terrain for mountainee­rs but you just need to know what you’re doing.’’

The Reeve family had been filming their search efforts, with plans to release the movie when they found the aircraft.

‘‘If people can help us get up there, either on foot or by helicopter, we would like them to be able to film it as they go so it can be part of the film.’’

Despite the challengin­g conditions, Mr Reeve, his wife and two sons were setting out again next month to search for the missing Dragonfly.

‘‘I keep thinking all the time that the plane is just lying up there somewhere. Most of it will still be together in the area,’’ Mr Reeve said.

‘‘It would be nice to say at the end of the day that we worked hard, we got there, we found it and that’s probably what’s keeping us going.’’

The family wanted to hear from anyone who might be able to help, either by foot or from the air. — RNZ

 ?? PHOTO: EDNA BATES/SUPPLIED ?? Lost . . . Brian Chadwick’s Dragonfly went missing between Christchur­ch and Milford Sound in February 1962.
PHOTO: EDNA BATES/SUPPLIED Lost . . . Brian Chadwick’s Dragonfly went missing between Christchur­ch and Milford Sound in February 1962.

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