The search for 21-year-old Hector Antigua has shifted downstream, NZ Police say.

Hector was reported missing on February 6 after a friend and hiking companion saw him fall from a rock into Rob Roy Stream during a hike in Mt Aspiring National Park.

Police followed a promising lead yesterday (Monday February 17) but did not locate Hector. 

A NZ Police spokesperson said police had received reports from a member of the public about what was believed to be an item of interest in an area of Rob Roy Stream.

“Police searched the area locating the item, however it was not as originally reported, and was instead a white rock,” the spokesperson said.

A couple of days earlier, on Saturday February 15, the Police National Dive Squad and Wānaka SAR Swift Water Rescue Team also searched an area of the canyon with underwater cameras and light equipment.

The NZ Police spokesperson told the Wānaka App the search will now move further downstream “due to exhausting all search avenues in the canyon”.

Search teams were quickly deployed to the area when Hector (an Argentinian national) was reported missing just before 5pm on February 6.

Some of the early search efforts were hampered by extreme hazards and limited visibility.

Last Thursday (February 13) police said they had located a number of personal items along the stream which were believed to belong to the missing man.

Hector arrived in New Zealand in September 2024 and he recently worked at a cherry orchard in Alexandra.

More than $15,000 has been raised to help Hector’s mother, Adriana Calomarde, travel to New Zealand to be closer to the search for her son, via a Givealittle page.

PHOTO: Supplied