Farmers' huts checked in search for backpacker

Remote farmers' huts in the Wanaka area were being checked today in the search for missing British backpacker Mark Andrew Thomas.

Police fear Mr Thomas, 28, who has not been seen since May 18, may have had a tramping accident.

However, they had asked farmers and musterers to check shacks and huts in the mountains and bush, as Mr Thomas had indicated he was going to travel to one, Wanaka Constable Cam Sigley told NZPA.

A practising Buddhist, Mr Thomas had emailed friend James Ashworth, saying the mountains were calling him and that he had heard of a hut where he could stay free of charge.

The email was sent before Mr Thomas checked out of the Purple Cow backpackers' hostel in Wanaka on May 18.

"I'm going to hitch up there (to the mountains) tomorrow," Mr Thomas, known as Tom, wrote.

He is known to have bought a cooker and a vegetable knife for his trip to the hut but Mr Sigley said today police did not have a clue which hut he meant.

"The Department of Conservation has advised us there are no records of Mr Thomas at any of its huts, so we're asking farmers for help," he said.

There was a chance Mr Thomas had met with an accident in the mountains.

"But that could have been five months ago, and the area is still quite snow-bound," Mr Sigley said.

There was also a remote chance Mr Thomas had left New Zealand on a private boat but there were no records of his leaving through official channels.

There was no suspicion of foul play but it could not be ruled out.

"This is still a local Wanaka matter and there are two or three officers working on the case at any one time," Mr Sigley said.

Mr Thomas, an environmental engineer from Barnsley, Yorkshire, arrived in New Zealand on May 14 as part of a round the world trip.

He stayed at the Purple Cow from May 16-18 and left several items of luggage in storage there, including his sleeping bag.

Mr Thomas failed to turn up to an arranged rendezvous with Mr Ashworth at the Southern Laughter Lodge in Queenstown on May 21.

Nor did he catch the 5.45pm bus from Wanaka to Queenstown as he intended. His bank accounts have not been accessed since.

The alarm was raised by his parents in Britain in late September, after they did not hear from him for some time.

English police and Interpol passed the inquiry on to Wanaka police just under two weeks ago.

Mr Thomas is described as about 1.78m tall, of medium build with greying brown hair, brown eyes and no facial hair.

- NZPA