Underwater robot to search lake for man

Police hope to deploy a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) to search the deep waters of Lake Rotoroa for a Tasmanian fisherman presumed drowned.

Kent Robert Trendall, 27, disappeared on Friday afternoon after he tried to swim from a boat 50 metres from the shore.

He had been drinking and was wearing jeans at the time.

An extensive search of the area where Mr Trendall went missing has failed to turn up any trace of him.

Sergeant John Maxwell of Nelson said a search of the lake in the area Mr Trendall went missing had been conducted up to 65m deep using a sonar imaging device from the Cawthron Institute.

The lake was known to be 145m at its deepest point and the police dive squad could only go to a depth of 50m.

Mr Maxwell said the ROV could provide video camera imagery of the lake, had the capability to retrieve bodies and could allow them to search deeper waters.

A Nelson man had an ROV, but it would require the help of members of the police dive squad to operate it.

Mr Maxwell said deploying the ROV would be the next step in the search, but police would be continuing a scaled back search of the lake and the foreshore near where Mr Trendall went missing.

Nelson search and rescue assistant co-ordinator Sherp Tucker said the search at Lake Rotoroa was an excellent example of the way the community rallied together during searches.

The Fire Service had provided its new Incident Control Vehicle and two staff for use as a search headquarters at the lake during the weekend.

That vehicle had advanced communication and computer technologies which were fantastic to use in the search.

Mr Tucker said the Cawthron Institute had also provided its state-of-the-art side scan sonar, had provided staff to take part in the search, and had not charged for the use of the equipment or staff time.

Tasman District Harbourmaster Steve Hainstock had also been involved in the search.

Mr Tucker said the search had involved a whole range of volunteers, from Lake Rotoroa locals and bach owners, to volunteers from Lake Rotoiti, Murchison and the West Coast.