Hunter with busted jaw declines to hail rescuers

A hunter who broke both his upper and lower jaw in a fall in the Urewera Ranges tramped for hours in agony to get help rather than set off a personal emergency locator beacon.

Aucklanders David Coop, 52, and his mate David Elmore, 49, were not sure if the injury justified a rescue and worried that they might face a huge helicopter callout bill.

Mr Elmore said his friend took "a good bang to the face" when he tripped. He was "spitting out teeth and blood", had hurt his shoulder and could not lift one arm.

"I thought, 'What do I do now?' I nearly made the decision [to activate the beacon]. But after the initial shock, he said help could take a while and we should try and get out as far as we could ourselves."

After more than half a day following a small creek through rugged country, Mr Coop was determined to battle on and not spend a night in the bush, said Mr Elmore.

The pair walked out of the bush near Ruatahuna to their vehicle last Wednesday. Mr Elmore then delivered his suffering mate to Rotorua Hospital nearly 11 hours after the accident, full of admiration for Mr Coop's fortitude.

He was transferred to Waikato Hospital for treatment and now faces six weeks of eating through a straw.

Mr Elmore, who had bought the personal emergency beacon just two weeks before the hunting trip, said he thought it was for "life-threatening" situations.

Rotorua police search and rescue officer Detective Sergeant John Wilson advised anyone in a similar position: "If you think you need to set off your emergency beacon, then obviously you do.

"You will not have to pay in New Zealand. The last thing you should be thinking of is what it will cost you.

"Of course, it is a different matter if you activate it maliciously."

He said the beacons were becoming more affordable.

"It is good insurance, especially for people who hunt by themselves because if you fall over a bluff no one knows where you are."

Mr Wilson said emergency beacons transmitted a radio signal on 121.5 megahertz.

The signal could be picked up either by a series of satellites orbiting the Earth or by commercial aircraft that kept an ear on the frequency.

Once a beacon was heard, the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington was advised and contacted a rescue helicopter in the area where the alarm was raised.

The helicopters were equipped with direction-finding equipment and were able to pinpoint the exact location of the beacon signal.

In the case of the men in Te Urewera National Park, setting off their personal beacon was certainly justified, said Mr Wilson.

"It is far better to have emergency services out looking for you and not needed than to wait until your situation deteriorates before calling for help," he said.

Because of the way the system operated, there was likely to be some delay before the signal was picked up. It was also helpful to activate the beacon in a clear area if practical, otherwise the signal might be masked by geographical features.

"Should you inadvertently set off your beacon, it is advisable to contact the authorities to let them know it is a false alarm."