Doubtful Sound SAR Update 4

A limited search this afternoon for the two men missing from the K'Cee has turned up no new information.

The skipper of the crayfishing vessel K-Cee, Bruce Gordon, 42, and crew member Darren Allen, 37, have not been heard from since Monday.

The search operation management team, made up of Police, SAR staff and local experts, say the operation is now in a limited continuous phase.

This means that the team will continue to evaluate the latest information supplied from the Rescue Coordination Centre about tidal patterns, current movements and debris already located, to identify potential actions or directions for any future searches.

A close shoreline foot search was carried out this afternoon on Secretary Island for the two missing men.

The search covered an area of shoreline approximately 1km in the vicinity of Rocky Point, where the K'Cee's bow was located on Tuesday.

Ten SAR and Police searchers were helicoptered into the area around midday. An aerial search with two helicopters to support the ground search also took place, supported by two vessels on the water in the immediate locality. The search was timed to take place around low tide.

Searchers were looking for any signs of anything significant from the K'Cee.

Police had hoped for a better outcome at this stage, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with all families involved.

Police would like to acknowledge the huge effort of the local Te Anau SAR community in supporting the search and the local commercial fishing vessels.

The contribution of local experts has been invaluable to the search management team to ensure that every conceivable possibility has been looked at. Police continue to be able to act on any new information that comes to hand.

Since Monday morning, Police, local Te Anau SAR staff, commercial fishing vessels and the Airforce Orion combined have put in almost 40 hours of searching.