Police have been talking with "a number'' of drivers of white utilities, after Mr Hale's partner, Danielle Oylear - who was in the passenger seat - reported seeing such a vehicle travelling past in the opposite direction about the time the object came through the windscreen.
Det Sgt Cameron said some of those drivers had been eliminated from the inquiry as they were not on the road when the accident happened.
Others had been identified as being on the road at the time, but "no-one has come forward and said `I'm missing anything', so to that degree we've been unable to advance it any further''.
Police remained "very keen'' to hear from the driver of a vehicle towing a fishing boat which pulled over at the top of the Maungawera Hill to let a white utility past, as well as any other drivers who were in the area.
"The focus has been on this white ute, but we're interested in hearing from anyone who was driving along that portion of road at the time ... or indeed anyone who might have picked something up.
"We clearly want to get to the bottom of what's occurred, firstly to see if we can prevent it from happening again, but for the family it leaves a lot of unanswered questions that they need to resolve so they can move forward.''
Anyone with information can contact Wanaka police on 03 443-7272 or via Crimestoppers: 0800 500-111.