Car, occupant still unaccounted for after report of crash in Awakino

Police called off their search of the Awakino River near the tunnel but say their inquiries into what happened are continuing.

Police have still not found a car or a person missing after a report of a crash in Awakino on Monday.

And police say they are still trying to determine whether the crash call was legitimate or not after a search of the area on Monday night and again on Tuesday along State Highway 3 in the gorge turned up zero clues.

A man called police claiming a vehicle went into the water along with a person.

The caller said he managed to get out but another man remained trapped in the car, sparking an urgent search.

However, police yesterday called off their search and were instead trying to track down the man who made the initial call.

When contacted today, a police spokesperson said while staff were not "actively searching", inquiries were still ongoing.

"Police have still not located anyone or any vehicle. We are still working to locate the person who called police."

Asked whether they believe the call was a hoax, the spokesperson said "we are still working to determine what has occurred so at this stage we couldn't comment either way for sure".

Anyone with information is asked to phone police on 105.