NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • All Blacks
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

'Lost' expert helps in tramper search

By Andrew Ashton of the Otago Daily Times
Otago Daily Times·
10 May, 2012 09:48 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The Ahuriri Valley, where missing man David Palmer is believed to be. Photo / Supplied
The Ahuriri Valley, where missing man David Palmer is believed to be. Photo / Supplied

The Ahuriri Valley, where missing man David Palmer is believed to be. Photo / Supplied

One of the people behind the hit television show Lost is reviewing search and rescue operations in the hunt for Dunedin man David Palmer, who is still missing in the Dingle Burn area.

Mr Palmer's friends have also helped by supplying searchers with photographs from previous trips he made to the area and a bootprint found near his car to aid in identifying any tracks.

That has widened the search area.

An Otago University health science library assistant, Mr Palmer, 53, has been missing since Saturday when he set out on what was expected to be a three or four-hour tramp.

Last night, police confirmed searchers had found "items of interest" which had yet to be officially linked to Mr Palmer.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

About 35 people are expected to continue searching the Ahuriri Valley Conservation Park today in specific areas including Mt Gladwish, a 1861m peak, as well as steep gorges with waterways, Search and Rescue incident controller Senior Sergeant Brian Benn said last night.

Search and Rescue Institute New Zealand development manager Ross Gordon, a key consultant on the TV show Lost, was one of three independent experts brought in to review search proceedings yesterday.

Mr Palmer's family members were also shown what was being done at the Birchfield operation base.

Mr Benn said the involvement of independent reviewers was best practice.

"Largely it is just to get a fresh perspective and a fresh set of eyes. Most searches are solved through initial searches and reflex tasking, but because we have a very large area and difficult terrain we have asked for an outside perspective," he said.

Discover more

New Zealand

Police confident of finding missing tramper

08 May 12:26 AM
New Zealand

Search for tramper to continue today

09 May 08:26 PM
New Zealand

Search for Dunedin tramper scaled down

13 May 07:27 PM
New Zealand

Dead tramper's family thanks searchers

20 May 08:01 PM

All independent reviewers had international search and rescue experience and were well respected nationally and abroad.

Mr Benn said searchers had a good picture of Mr Palmer's possible plans, after friends and family accessed his computer to send photographs taken on previous trips.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The photographs prompted searchers to consider areas north and south of the Dingle Burn Saddle.

"We know he is a landscape photographer and likes to go to high points of the valley to get pictures. That helps us decide a lot about his behaviour," Mr Benn said.

"It was a beautiful day when he went missing, it was the night of the big moon. All those little pieces of information go into the mix when creating a person profile, which might help about the sort of behaviour he might do outdoors," he said.

A diary found in Mr Palmer's car revealed him as a positive individual with a desire to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Mr Benn said.

Police and SAR advisers believed Mr Palmer was within the 200 sq km search area.

Despite recent snow falling up to 10cm thick, Mr Benn said the situation was "very survivable".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Low cloud and rain lifted late yesterday, allowing an Iroquois helicopter to fly.

University of Otago librarian Howard Amos said Mr Palmer, who had diabetes, was well known and respected among staff.

"Our thoughts are with his family as they await further news at this time," he said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

08 Jul 09:03 AM
New Zealand

Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days

08 Jul 08:26 AM
New Zealand

'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland

08 Jul 08:25 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder
New Zealand

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

08 Jul 09:03 AM
Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days
New Zealand

Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days

08 Jul 08:26 AM
'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland
New Zealand

'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland

08 Jul 08:25 AM
63,000 lockdown breaches reported as Covid inquiry reveals impact
New Zealand

63,000 lockdown breaches reported as Covid inquiry reveals impact

08 Jul 08:11 AM
CCTV footage shows what daughter did in the wake of allegedly murdering her mother
Crime

CCTV footage shows what daughter did in the wake of allegedly murdering her mother

08 Jul 08:00 AM

Latest from New Zealand

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

08 Jul 09:03 AM

Scott Guy was 31 when he was shot on July 8, 2010, at the end of his driveway.

Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days

Family appalled after 99yo's landline left disconnected for days

08 Jul 08:26 AM
'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland

'Disgraceful act': Historical graves damaged in Auckland

08 Jul 08:25 AM
63,000 lockdown breaches reported as Covid inquiry reveals impact

63,000 lockdown breaches reported as Covid inquiry reveals impact

08 Jul 08:11 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search