Police wait for tests on Hilux

A police officer uses a metal detector to check undergrowth on the riverbed near where the vehicle was found. Casts have been taken of its wheel tracks. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Forensic testing on the stolen vehicle possibly linked to the Birgit Brauer murder case should be finished today.

The Toyota Hilux, which was found abandoned in the Ohau River near Levin on Wednesday, closely matches the description of the vehicle the 28-year-old German backpacker was last seen in.

But police say they are unable to link the vehicle to the homicide at this stage and are refusing to name the man believed to have stolen the 4WD.

The Herald revealed yesterday that the 4WD was reported stolen by its owner, Palmerston North man Brent Cleverley, last month.

It was said to have been stolen by his employee, a man in his mid-30s who lived in Levin about 4km from where the vehicle was found.

The inquiry head, Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward, would not talk about this aspect other than to say police were aware of who might have stolen the vehicle "and will obviously need to speak to this person".

"However, this person's details will not be released to the media for reasons of legal integrity."

Victoria University media law lecturer Steven Price questioned the legal grounds for police not releasing the man's details, but said they might be protecting themselves from a contempt of court charge.

Yesterday, as the 4WD was being tested, police continued to search for evidence near the river where it was found.

Casts have been taken of the vehicle's tracks and police used metal detectors to scour the dense undergrowth surrounding the riverbed.

Detective Inspector Doug Brew said forensic testing of the vehicle should be finished this afternoon but it would be "some days or possibly even weeks" before the results were known. He said police would spend the weekend speaking to local residents to find out what they heard and saw about the time the vehicle was dumped on Monday night.

Farmer John Burnell, whose property the 4WD was found on, said the driver must have known the area.

The vehicle had been driven down a narrow, undulating farm track that wound for more than half a kilometre before meeting the water.

The driver would also have had to negotiate gates and get across rough, scrubby terrain before dropping down to the river's edge.

Mr Burnell's sons saw a vehicle on the track and twice went looking for it on Monday night.

They could not find the vehicle and did not see anyone in the area.

Another man - who asked not to be named because he was worried about his and his family's safety - heard the Hilux about the same time and was "stunned" to see the 4WD on Wednesday morning.

He knew a vehicle fitting the description was being tracked in the hunt for Ms Brauer's killer and called police.

The man said a strong wind had blown the sounds of a vehicle across the district as he walked outdoors on Monday night.

He saw lights, and a short time later a second vehicle - believed to have been the Burnell boys out looking for the intruder.

He also heard a quadbike.

"The river hadn't risen at that stage. It did afterwards."

He thought the water might have reached the floor of the vehicle, but had not submerged it.

Ms Brauer's body was found stabbed and bashed at Lucys Gully, south of New Plymouth, last Tuesday.

- additional reporting: Derek Cheng