A West Coast man who helped recover bodies following the Mount Erebus and Cave Creek disasters and was later the victim of a drug smuggling scam has been reported missing on a tramp.
Police were concerned for the wellbeing of 75-year-old Roy Arbon when he was overdue from a walk in the Mt Davy area northeast of Greymouth on Wednesday.
Arbon may be wearing a blue puffer jacket, shorts, and hiking boots, but police said this was not confirmed.
Police search and rescue, land search and rescue, and a police search and rescue dog were involved in searching the “mountainous and challenging” area.
Teams were on the ground, canvassing areas and tracks the tramper might have taken, supported by helicopters.
“Although the 75-year-old is an experienced hiker, there are concerns for his wellbeing, given the length of time he has been overdue with no contact and the cold temperatures,” a police spokesperson said.
Arbon was working for the Antarctic division of New Zealand’s Department of Scientific and Industrial Research when Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into Mount Erebus in 1979. All 237 passengers and 20 crews were killed.
He played a key role in the recovery operation and later recounted his involvement to NZ History.
“Conditions were dangerous. We were working on a glacier, and we did not know where the crevasses were. When these were found they were marked with a flag. I remember carrying a suitcase with all the paraphernalia in it with an ice axe in the other hand probing for crevasses,” he recalled.
“One thing that has stayed with me is the smell of unburnt aviation fuel. When the plane went down there was a blast from the aviation fuel but not all of it burnt off.
“When I returned to Scott Base after the recovery phase, I was asked to help erect a memorial cross on the site. This was done in a gale-force wind so bad the helicopter could not shut down. I believe this was because the wind was blowing so hard, they wouldn’t be able to get the machine started without damage to the main rotors.”
Years later, Arbon was again involved in a national tragedy — this time helping recover the bodies of 14 people who died when a viewing platform collapsed at Cave Creek in Paparoa National Park in 1995.
Arbon was also entangled in an international drug smuggling case, being detained in Australia after authorities discovered over 2kg of cocaine hidden in a suitcase he had carried from Brazil.
He was later found not guilty of all charges following a trial in Western Australia’s District Court.
His ordeal was documented in the film The Scam, which explored how unsuspecting travellers could be exploited by criminal networks.
