Queenstown police want to speak with a man who was in the area where a kayaker disappeared last Friday.
Gellert Csaba Mudra, 41, a Hungarian, was last seen paddling a hired kayak on Lake Wakatipu about 4.45pm Friday.
The kayak was found floating with the paddle and lifejacket stowed inside about 6pm.
The man police want to speak with, also a kayaker, was in the area of Queenstown Bay, near the Botanical Gardens between 4.30pm and 5.30pm, Detective Sergeant Grahme Bartlett of Queenstown police said.
Witnesses described seeing him park a dark coloured motor vehicle, possibly a stationwagon, with roof racks, at Queenstown beach.
He was wearing a wetsuit and using a yellow river kayak, Mr Bartlett said.
Police believed this man might be able to help with inquiries.
A police dive team will search Queenstown Bay today for Mr Mudra.
His wife is becoming increasingly distressed as the search for her husband continues.
"I don't know what has happened to him.
"I hope he is still alive," she said last night.
Queenstown police said Mr Mudra had failed to return a hired kayak he had used in the Queenstown Bay area of the lake.
Mr Mudra, originally from Hungary, had been living in New Zealand for the past two and a-half years.
He was last seen paddling in the bay about 4.45pm on Friday.
Police had not excluded the possibility Mr Mudra walked off after beaching the kayak in the Lake Esplanade area.
Sergeant Brian Cameron, of Queenstown, said Mr Mudra was wearing a beige-coloured long-sleeved woollen pullover, blue jeans, beige-coloured trainers and a light blue polo shirt.
He was an experienced kayaker and was wearing a light blue life vest.
The yellow and orange Minnow brand kayak was found about 6pm, floating in the middle of the bay, with the paddle tucked inside the cockpit and the life jacket stowed behind the seat.
Strong winds at the time indicated the craft might have drifted from the direction of the Lake Esplanade beach.
The interior of the kayak and the life jacket were dry, Sgt Cameron said.
Police and Coastguard made shoreline searches of the Queenstown Bay and Frankton Arm areas of the lake on Friday evening and again on Saturday, but found no sign of the man.
Sgt Cameron said police had grave concerns for Mr Mudra given his light clothing and the chilly weekend conditions.
"Mr Mudra has lived in Queenstown together with his wife for the past 18 months and has recently been depressed about his inability to find work," he said.
Mr Mudra is described as about 185cm tall, weighing about 95kg with short grey hair.
He is clean shaven and wears wire-rimmed glasses.
He speaks English well but with a strong accent.
Coastguard Queenstown skipper Jay Berriman said he was called out at 7.30pm on Friday, searched the Frankton Arm and lakeside beaches but found nothing.
The search was called off at 8.30pm.
"They found the kayak in the bay so it became a search for a person on land," he said.
Queenstown police again called for the Coastguard to search the lake for about three hours on Saturday.
Queenstown Bike Hire confirmed Mr Mudra had hired the kayak from the Church St kiosk on Friday.
Detective Sergeant Grahme Bartlett said he had interviewed witnesses and Mr Mudra's wife yesterday.
A lake search will resume today.
"A new search team will cover the bay and Queenstown Gardens area to make sure the victim did not come ashore in that location.
"A dive team will search the bay on the off chance the victim tipped out of the kayak," he said.
A missing persons notification was posted on the New Zealand Police website at 11.50pm on Sunday. - with NZPA
