Missing Canadian tourist’s remains found
A thigh bone belonging to a missing Canadian tourist has been found on the South Island’s West Coast.
Connor Hayes, 25, and Joanna Lam, 24 – both from Ontario – died when a landslide swept their campervan off State Highway 6, near Diana Falls in Haast Pass, in wild weather in September 2013. Lam’s body was found, but Hayes’ body was not.
West Coast Area Commander, Inspector Mel Aitken, said a hunter found a human thigh bone where the Haast and Burke rivers meet in August.
A DNA analysis confirmed it belonged to Hayes, which sparked another search on the Haast River on Sunday. ‘‘The search recovered a number of items of interest from the riverbed, but police are yet to confirm whether they belong to Mr Hayes,’’ Aitken said.
‘‘Anything, including bones, which is believed to belong to Mr Hayes, will be released to his family in Canada in due course.’’
Aitken hoped the discovery would offer Hayes’ family some closure.
Hayes and Lam hired a campervan in Nelson about September 8, 2013, and travelled to Fox Glacier.
After discussing staying at the Haast Motor Camp, the couple were seen travelling towards the Haast Pass on September 10. Weather at the time was severe and some motorists turned back.
Hayes and Lam continued along SH6 through the pass towards Wanaka, and the road was closed a short time later.
The Canadian tourists were reported missing six days later, and search crews discovered the wreckage of their campervan in the Haast River on September 17.
Lam’s body was found on the beach, 6 kilometres north of the river mouth, 55km from the wreckage, on September 20.