Arrest in Napier rape case

Police have located the car belonging to a Napier woman who survived a 26-hour kidnap and rape ordeal and have arrested the driver.

The 24-year-old woman was abducted from her home by a stranger early on Tuesday. The stranger took her in her own car to Mohaka Forest, off the Napier-Taupo Highway, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

The 1998 Honda Accord was stopped at a checkpoint in Wainui, south of Whakatane, just after 9am today.

Police said a man driving the car had been taken into custody but they could not confirm it was the person wanted in relation to the attack on the woman. The arrested man is a a 31-year-old from Napier.

He was being held at Whakatane police station charged with unlawful taking of a vehicle and detectives from Napier were on their way to interview him.

This afternoon he appeared in court in Whakatanae and was remanded in custody to appear again in Napier tomorrow. His name was suppressed. The judge said this was in the interest of a fair trial and because of the early nature of the police inquiry.

Eastern Bay of Plenty area commander Inspector Pat Tasker said the vehicle stopped was the one police had been looking for since yesterday, but there were identification issues around the man.

"We've located the vehicle and we've got to do some work around the person in the vehicle," Mr Tasker said.

He said the car was stopped on a main road.

A possible sighting of the Honda Accord, registration DAF180, had been reported near Whakatane at about midday on Wednesday.

The woman's Eftpos card was used at 5am that day in Taupo.

Mr Tasker said police were still very interested in sightings of the vehicle yesterday.

The woman escaped her attacker about 9pm on Tuesday and hid overnight in the forest.

She walked barefoot on a rugged road for three hours until she was rescued by a passing logging truck at 8.30am on Wednesday.

The wanted man was described as Maori, in his early 30s with gingery-dark hair and a goatee beard.

He has four missing front teeth and is heavily tattooed, with a pot belly. He is of stocky build and about 1.73 metres tall.

Inspector Pat Tasker of Whakatane police said checks were being made on the identity of the man in custody.

"A member of the public diligently recorded the registration number of the car and noticed that vehicle in the Kutarere area and alerted us," he said.

Earlier today a truck driver told how the first action of the woman when she flagged down his vehicle after her terrifying night in the bush was to make sure she was safe by locking the doors on the truck.

"She was standing in the middle of the road, (and) waved me down. She was in a distressed state," truck driver Doug Broughton told Radio Live.

"She just quickly jumped into the truck and just wanted the doors locked to make sure she was safe."

He talked to the woman to work out what the problem was and then put emergency procedures into action, which was difficult as the truck was in an area without cellphone coverage.

He managed to contact a nearby farm station where, fortunately, there was an off-duty police officer.

"We virtually stayed where we were ... She hadn't had anything to drink for quite a while so we just made sure she was warm and gave her something to eat and drink and just probably comforted her for a couple of hours until police arrived," Mr Broughton said.

Police had still to speak at length to the victim, who stayed with her family overnight, but expected to do so today.

During the victim's ordeal she was led down various tracks on foot and then back to the car, which had also been driven around the area.

"There are about four scenes throughout the bush that we were interested in yesterday," Mr Foster said.