Tramper found dead in Tararua Range after setting off personal locator beacon

The death of a tramper in Tararua Range​ after setting off a personal locator beacon is being referred to the coroner, police say.

Police deployed LandSAR after the beacon was set off last Friday near the Neil Forks hut, about 30 kilometres west of Carterton.

The man was found deceased about 7pm that night, a spokesperson for police said. The death was being referred to the coroner.

It is believed to be the first fatality on the Wairarapa-side of the Tararua Range since the death of 49-year-old Darren Myers in 2019.

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Sergeant Tony Matheson​ said while it would be for the coroner to determine it appeared the death was related to a medical event as opposed to misadventure.

He said the tramper had tramped the Tararua Range before and was well-equipped and with his wife.

The two had separated when the death occurred, as the husband had elected to carry on to Maungahuka Hut while his wife stayed behind at Neil Forks Hut, Matheson said.

“It was on that trip that the issues arose.”

The man was found by helicopter using thermal imaging in dense bush near steep terrain.

Matheson said the Tararuas had “reputation” and there had been several incidences of people suffering misadventure in recent years.

It ranks the third-highest conservation area for Search and Rescue, behind Fiordland and Tongariro National Parks, according to the Mountain Safety Council.

There have been six fatalities in the decade ending 2019.

The body of Darren Myers, 49, was found at the bottom of a waterfall in “hazardous” terrain in June 2019, not far from his last known location.

A coroner found he died after falling and hitting his head.