A 79-year-old man and a woman in her 60s were missing off the Catlins coast last night when they failed to return from a recreational fishing trip.
The last sighting of the pair in their 5.2m Kiwi-Kraft, Krystella, was about 10am yesterday near Jacks Bay, Senior Sergeant Brian Benn, of the Southern District Command Centre, said.
The pair, from Owaka, were due back in the township at nightfall.
They headed out about 8.30am and intended to head south.
Police held ''grave concerns'' for the pair.
A rescue helicopter searched for two hours and was stood down at 10pm because of fog.
Local boats had also been out looking for the pair.
The search would resume today at 6am.
