“When you get good results, it’s really positive. When you don’t get the result you’re after but you get closure, that’s a significant result in itself.”
Metcalfe said there were a number of search and rescue operations that stood out over the years.
One was the rescue of eight schoolchildren in Waipū Caves in 2007, and another was the Enchanter tragedy earlier this year when five people were killed and four rescued after a charter fishing boat overturned.
“Over 26 years in Search and Rescue and 28 years in the police, there’s been a huge amount of satisfaction in rescuing people. There have been some significant events I’ve been involved with. You have your highs and you have your lows,” Metcalfe said.
“We’re also involved in victim identification and that’s the most unpleasant part of the job.”
Other operations Metcalfe has been involved in included a four-day search for Whangārei man Brian Bench in 2021, the largest search in Northland in 17 years, and the search for missing Korean man Sun II Keum in 2004.
Prior to joining the police, Metcalfe spent 20 years in the Air Force, where part of his role was survival training, and said moving into Search and Rescue when he joined the police was a natural progression for him.
“I was fortunate I could bring that skill set into the police,” Metcalfe said.
He has also helped organise the annual Blu Heelers fishing tournament, which raises money for Hospice, for the last 23 years.
