![A policeman at the spot where a swimmer was last seen south of Brighton on Friday. Photo: Gregor...](https://www.odt.co.nz/sites/default/files/styles/odt_landscape_extra_large_21_10/public/story/2017/01/police_1.jpg?itok=lXtJvZn_)
Dunedin Police and LandSAR teams returned to Brighton Beach for a second day on Saturday, following reports on Friday of a person seen entering the water and failing to return.
Police called off the search on Saturday night, having found nothing, and said no reports of a missing person had been received.
There were no plans to continue the search unless fresh information came to light.
A police spokeswoman, contacted yesterday, would only say the original sighting was not being treated as false, and police would always follow up "any report of this nature".
The informant, Peter Dunn, of Dunedin, told the Otago Daily Times on Friday he rang police after failing to see the person return from the water’s edge.
"I was about 200m away and I noticed them and I looked back and they were gone," he said.
The only footprints in the sand led to the water, Mr Dunn said.
Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club lifeguard Scott Weatherall, who was involved in Friday’s search, said yesterday the original sighting was credible. However, it was possible the person had made their way out of the water unseen, while the alarm was being raised.
"Most likely they were there, but we hope they’ve made their way out of the water in the period of time the informant’s gone to seek some assistance from us.
"I’m reasonably confident, especially with the helicopter, if they were there then we would have sighted them on [Friday]."
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