5 Jul 2022

Police name Christchurch man as missing Maruia Falls swimmer

9:44 am on 5 July 2022

Police have named Mikhail Buchanan, also known as Mikhail Anderson, as the 26-year-old Christchurch man missing in Nelson's Maruia Falls.

Maruia Falls.

Maruia Falls. Photo: Wikicommons

Over the weekend, police continued the search for Buchanan over a week since he failed to resurface after jumping into the water at Maruia Falls on Friday 24 June.

In a statement, Nelson Bays Area Commander Matthew Scoles said dive squads searched long stretches of the river but low visibility due to water conditions had posed some difficulties.

"Over the past 10 days the search teams have been confronted with considerable challenges due to the weather and river conditions but have made use of all search windows available," Inspector Scoles said.

"This has included searches of the river by the Police National Dive Squad, Nelson Dive Club, Swift Water Rescue Team and Nelson Surf Rescue, and onshore support and bank searches by Police Search and Rescue members."

The search effort had in total covered the Maruia Falls and two kilometres downstream, he said.

"This continues to be an incredibly difficult time for Mikhail's family and friends, and we want to be in a position to provide them with closure," Scoles said.

He said police would reassess the search effort in coming days to determine whether a continued search is possible in current conditions.

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