Queenstown police say a search and rescue operation on Lake Wakatipu last night could be down to misinformation or those involved in the incident getting to shore safely.
Sergeant Blair Duffy, of Queenstown, said police received a report from a member of the public saying two people were seen in difficulty in the lake.
“Well at this point in time no-one has come forward to suggest that anyone is missing or unaccounted for.”
“We are confident that a decent search has been done.”
The Queenstown Lakes district harbourmaster Marty Black said yesterday the search and rescue was called off shortly after 9pm.
Police said they received a report just before 8pm of two people in the water on the Kelvin Heights side of the arm, near Bay View Rd, below Mincher Rd near a moored white launch.
Mr Black was unsure what information was initially reported to police.
``I had a good view of the whole lake and the whole area and could see nothing. There was a water taxi diverted three to four times along the area.
``I had really good binos [binoculars] and the light was good - there was certainly no-one in the water or on the shore.''
Mr Black said Fire and Emergency New Zealand went door-to-door in the area checking whether anyone was missing.
Mr Black stressed the importance of contacting emergency services in the event of seeing something suspicious on Lake Wakatipu - or the district's rivers.
``If anyone sees anything untoward, please ring it in right away - we will follow up. We have had a couple of incidents lately where people have been out with no life jackets on. We just want to keep people safe.''
Queenstown police: (03) 441 1600.
