Manawatū River search: Police make inquiries into reports of man waving for help; no sign of person near river

Police are making inquiries into reports of a man “waving his arms” in the water in the Manawatū River after a search found no signs of anyone being near the water.

Police said someone reported seeing a person in the Manawatū River, near the Fitzherbert Bridge, about 9.30am yesterday.

In an update on Wednesday morning, police said the search has now moved into “an inquiry phase”.

“Police Search and Rescue and other emergency services teams conducted a search of the area yesterday but were unable to locate any person or any signs that there was a person near the river at all,” a police spokesperson said.

“So the search has moved into an inquiry phase. We’re just making inquiries to establish the circumstances of the report.

“We’re trying to see if it [the report] is accurate or not, and we’re looking into all sorts of different inquiries to establish that.”

A witness, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Herald she saw a head popping in and out of the water and, on a second look, saw a man “waving his arms out”.

She claimed she and her boyfriend first saw the person while they were driving over the Fitzherbert Bridge after looking at flood damage in the area.

“I said to my partner at the time, ‘I’m pretty sure I just seen a head’ ... We continued on driving, and he’s like, ‘yeah, I’m certain that’s what we’ve seen’,” she said.

The witness said the pair drove back to get a better look and saw the man about 250m further along the river.

The couple then alerted police.

“We tried to pull over and find a safe spot to park, and then we ran up onto the bridge, and he was gone,” she said.

Police said they received a report around 9.30am from someone who believed they saw a person in the Manawatū River, near Fitzherbert Bridge. Photo / Supplied

“I’m pretty certain it was a man, but I can’t be 100% certain because of how far away he was, and we were in a moving vehicle, and he’s in a moving river.

“The one main thing that made me know it was a human out of all the driftwood floating through the river was his waving arms.

“He was waving his arms out,” the witness said.

Police search

Police Search and Rescue and other emergency services teams have been unable to find anyone or any signs that a person was near the river at all.

Police said inquiries were ongoing to establish the exact circumstances of the report.

A local who wished to remain anonymous told the Herald he was walking his dog in the area at 10am when he saw police in attendance.

“They had drones up and all that stuff, so they were looking,” he said.

He said he saw at least four or five police officers at the scene.

“It’s a pretty bad river. I’ve lived here with my partner for about six years and it’s been pretty bad, taken a few lives,” the local said.

The river often swelled significantly after heavy rain.

A Wellington man was reported missing after flash floods hit the capital yesterday.

Karori man Philip Sutton.

Philip Sutton, who is in his 60s, remains unaccounted for in the suburb of Karori.

Emergency services were contacted about 7.15am yesterday by a concerned member of Sutton’s family. His South Karori Rd home was found to have been badly affected by floodwaters and debris.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.