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Body found in search for British hiker in New Zealand | Body found in search for British hiker in New Zealand |
(32 minutes later) | |
Police searching for a British hiker who went missing in New Zealand nearly two weeks ago have found a body. | |
Darren Myers, 49, went missing while trekking in Tararua Range in the country's North Island. | |
An 11-day search ended on Wednesday when a rescue helicopter spotted a body at the bottom of a remote waterfall. | |
The family of Mr Myers, who is believed to have emigrated to New Zealand from the UK, last heard from him when he sent them a text on 30 May. | |
The BBC's Hywel Griffith, in Sydney, says they are devastated by the discovery but that they are relieved that he had not spent days in pain trying to reach safety. | |
'Poor visibility' | |
Mr Myers had been hiking the Tararua Northern Crossing, a popular trek that can take up to five days. | |
Police search and rescue incident controller Sergeant Tony Matheson said the weather conditions were particularly bad, with wind gusts of up to 145km/h, very poor visibility and rain. | Police search and rescue incident controller Sergeant Tony Matheson said the weather conditions were particularly bad, with wind gusts of up to 145km/h, very poor visibility and rain. |
"It happened very suddenly. I don't think he suffered at all," he told Radio New Zealand. | "It happened very suddenly. I don't think he suffered at all," he told Radio New Zealand. |
"The conditions were just about as bad as you can get up there," he added. | "The conditions were just about as bad as you can get up there," he added. |