The Lake Hāwea community has been left hanging after someone reported a lost drone in the township on Sunday (October 8) - with an unusual passenger apparently on board.

Craig Barlow posted on a Hāwea Facebook page that his 15-year-old grandson had lost his drone.

Then his post took an unexpected turn.

“He flew it from our place in Cemetery Road and lost sight of it. Normally I would buy him another one but he put his friend’s guinea pig in it and his friend is quite upset about it all.”

Reactions from commentators included plenty of puns about pigs flying, and a dose of criticism about the guinea pig’s alleged test flight.

There was also a strong degree of skepticism about whether Craig’s story was true.

After Craig’s post disappeared from Facebook the Wānaka App got in touch with Craig to find out more.

Craig, who on Facebook had denied lying about the incident, reported that the drone had not been found.

Perhaps of more concern to locals: “We don’t know where poor wee Gareth [the guinea pig] has gone,” he said.

Craig said Gareth had a “wee harness” which was cable tied to the drone.

This week more locals took to Facebook to find out whether the drone and its passenger had been found, and whether the event had actually happened, with many admitting to still being “invested in the outcome”.