Missing tahr hunter ‘probably fell’, died
CHRISTCHURCH: The case of a missing Swedish hunter may never be solved but experts have concluded he ‘‘most probably’’ fell shooting or recovering a tahr.
Hans Christian Tornmarck, a 28yearold vet and keen hunter, went on a solo tahr mission without a rescue beacon in a remote, rugged part of the West Coast in May 2017.
He was never seen again. Now, a coroner who looked into the case has concluded he died in the Regina Creek area of Karangarua Valley, Westland, between May 13 and 22, 2017.
‘‘The direct cause of Mr Tornmarck’s death is unknown. His death occurred in the context of a mishap in an alpine environment,’’ deputy chief coroner Anna Tutton said in coronial findings released today.
Mr Tornmarck arrived in New Zealand on March 1, 2017, for a hunting and tramping holiday. It was his third visit to the country.
On May 12, he sent a text message to a friend saying he was going on a ‘‘solomission up Regina now’’ and that he ‘‘should be back Tuesday or Wednesday’’.
Although experienced and otherwise well prepared, he was not carrying a personal locator beacon.
Members of the public later spoke of seeing him in the region. Three hunters talked to him that night, and the following morning, at the Cassel Flat Hut, reporting he seemed optimistic and confident of finding tahr.
On May 17, Mr Tornmarck’s friend reported to police he had failed to return.
An intensive search and rescue operation found his campsite ‘‘high up the valley near the head of the creek in an extremely hazardous area’’, under a large, nearvertical rock which went for 200m directly upwards.
But there was no sign of Mr Tornmarck and the search was called off on May 24.
Another lastditch search was conducted in January last year, using drones, dogs, professional mountain guides and LandSAR alpine specialists, but again he was not found.
A New Zealand Mountain Safety Council (MSC) review, provided to the coroner, noted that bullet casings found by searchers, matching the calibre carried by Mr Tornmarck, were probably his.
They found it unlikely that he would have been shot by another hunter, or that he had accidentally shot himself, or that he had trouble crossing a river.
The report authors concluded it was ‘‘most probable’’ Mr Tornmarck fell trying either to shoot or recover a tahr in the steep and difficult terrain.
The Department of Conservation said although hunter safety attracted ‘‘a very small proportion of page visits’’ on its website, it accepted it could improve information about hazards and risks.
It has vowed to review information for users of remote and difficult conservation land, such as the whole Karangarua catchment, to ‘‘ensure that the messages are consistent between the various Doc channels noting the current messages, while not inconsistent, do have different phrasing’’.
Doc also said it would establish more standardised wording for hazard warnings for activities in such areas to provide ‘‘a more robust picture of the hazards and the skill level required’’, and to review the history of fatalities and/or search and rescue events on conservation land over the past five years to consider where standardised highlevel warning might need to be applied.
It will also work with others in the sector to ensure consistency of approach.
The coroner also endorsed recommendations made by the MSC, including that all alpine hunters take a cautious approach to route finding and always consider the fall line for any animal they intend to shoot; that alpine hunters always hunt in pairs; and that alpine and backcountry hunters always carry twoway communications devices.
‘‘Tragically, it appears that Mr Tornmarck, who had limited experience in the New Zealand West Coast alpine environment, died as a result of his failure to follow many of the basic safety rules of hunting or tramping in the New Zealand alpine environment,’’ Ms Tutton concluded.
‘‘Mr Tornmarck went alone into an alpine environment described by experienced members of the search team as among the most hazardous and challenging in
New Zealand,’’ she said.
‘‘He failed to fill in the intentions book at the hut in which he stayed the night before setting out and did not take a personal locator beacon with him.’’ — The New Zealand Herald