She had recently lost her husband of 56 years who had died about three weeks earlier, and despite the impact kept to a routine with little apparent memory of those around her and what she was doing, to the point of feeding the chooks several times a day, because she had forgotten they had just been fed.
An official search started on the Tuesday night of the disappearance, and when it ended two days later family sought assistance from the recognised authority and trainers Search and Rescue Institute of New Zealand and director Ross Gordon.
SARINZ reviewed the initial search to determine what the family needed to do when it resumed the hunt, ultimately co-ordinated by Bruce Wills, and the family says the company's report "highlighted a number of deficiencies in the field search phase."
"The family have decided to bring these deficiencies to the attention of the Coronial Inquest in the hope that the Coroner will make recommendations which, if implemented. will significantly improve future search and rescue practices," a family statement said.
The family was not pointing the finger at those in the Trelinnoe search and said: "These deficiencies appear to be New Zealand-wide and amplified by training not being aligned with international best practice."
"Our hope is that future search and rescue efforts will have a higher chance of safely returning lost loved ones to their families."
The inquest, before district coroner Chris Devonport, is scheduled to last four days, with evidence from at least 18 people, including family, police and LandSAR members, and Mr Gordon.
(Proceeding)