Missing NZ helicopter found
Nov 19, 2005
The Rescue Co-ordination Centre confirmed on Satruday evening that the helicopter belonging to missing businessman Michael Erceg has been found near Mt Karioi near Raglan.
It says there are no survivors on board.
Erceg and his passenger Guus Klatte had been missing for more than two weeks.
A faint voice heard on a radio transmission on Friday had given fresh hope to family and friends searching for the two missing men.
They believe it was a call for help from the millionaire liquour baron but rescue staff say they were not convinced enough to re-open the official search.
It was two weeks since the pair simply disappeared on a flight from Auckland to Queenstown.
Fifteen days since Erceg went missing, his family had believed they had the strongest evidence yet that he was still alive
"I heard a tired male voice, and I could just make out the words 'here' and 'down'," Erceg's brother Ivan said.
Ivan and three others heard the muffled voice on a helicopter radio while searching on Friday.
On Saturday, 12 ground searchers explored the dense bush where the radio signal seemed strongest, but had found nothing.
A Rescue Coordination Centre spokesman says it appears both men died on impact.