The past week has been a busy one for Wānaka Police, who have dealt with numerous scams, search and rescue alerts, suspicious fires, and more.

“Police have received numerous fraud related reports,” Senior Sergeant Fiona (Fi) Roberts said.

Generally speaking the most common scams are people selling non-existent goods on Facebook Marketplace and/or Instagram, and buyers transferring money and not receiving the goods purchased, she said.

“An elderly member of our community reported being scammed out of a significant amount of money. They received a phone call from a fraudster pretending to be from Spark and said that he was testing the internet speed.  

“Unfortunately, the trusting complainant followed their instructions and was able to take complete control of their computer and remove funds. Please be vigilant.”

In other incidents, a female was trespassed from New World Dunmore Street on Wednesday (August 20) as a result of historic shoplifting.  

Police held concerns for a missing 15-year-old, reported missing from her home in Wānaka on Friday (August 22). She was located safe and well.

Police and FENZ (fire and emergency) responded to suspicious fire(s) on the Hāwea River Track at the Albert Town Campground on Monday (August 25). Fi asked anyone with information or sightings of suspicious activity to call police, quoting P063598849. 

LandSAR (search and rescue) responded to two people who got into difficulty in the Motatapu Track area walking towards Fern Burn Hut on Saturday (August 23).

“They walked up a rough track and got to a reasonably high altitude before reaching the limit of their capabilities. They had to be extracted by a LandSAR ACR team and were recovered safely,” Fi said.

A member of the public reported concerns for a female who had signed into the Brewster Hut book on Friday (August 22) saying she would return to collect her gear after climbing Mt Armstrong. 

Gear was left in the hut but the woman had not signed out. Police enquiries located the woman safe and well, Fi said.

In road policing, speed remains a major factor in poor driving behaviour.

Last Wednesday (August 20) a rental vehicle failed to give way when turning right onto Golf Course Road, colliding with an oncoming vehicle. There were no injuries and moderate damage to the front of both vehicles, Fi said.

The Impairment Prevention Team was in town on Friday (August 22), and while a lot of people were tested, none converted into evidential procedures at the checkpoints. 

“Great to see responsible people making the right choices when it comes to drinking and driving,” Fi said.

“The same could not be said for a 19-year-old male … who was the driver of a Mazda motor vehicle on Helwick Street.

“He had two passengers in the car with him. He initially denied having consumed alcohol. He failed a passive breath test and underwent evidential breath alcohol procedures and will be appearing in Queenstown District Court on 5 September.”

Police attended a single vehicle crash at Timaru Creek Road on Saturday (August 23). The vehicle lost traction, slid into the bank, and rolled onto its side. There were no injuries.

Police received multiple calls for driving behaviour to and from the ski fields. Fi reminded people to slow down and drive to the conditions. 

“Expect us to follow up with driving complaints,” she said.

Fi warned that snow, ice and black ice remain in the area; people should carry chains and know when and how to fit them.

“Despite signs and road warnings from Queenstown Lakes District Council that chains must be fitted/carried, some motorists choose to ignore warnings. Our mountain passes are not the places to be complacent,” she said.

A steady stream of lost property comes through the police drop box, and the Station Support Officer (SSO) “does a great job reuniting property with people” for people who submit a report online, Fi said.

Call 111 when you need an emergency response from police, fire or ambulance.

Call 105 to make a non-emergency report.

To make an anonymous crime report contact Crime Stoppers.

PHOTO: Wānaka App