WEST COAST MYSTERY

Hokitika Guardian, 28 November 1930, Page 3

WEST COAST MYSTERY

DOG DISCOVERED. ANIMAL MAY GIVE ASSISTANCE. (Times Correspondent). GREYMOUTH, November 26. The search for Ernest Burr, the West Coast mill worker, who has been missing from his home at Marsden since November 8, had a sudden and dramatic turn yesterday with the discovery of a dog, which is said to have been seen about with Burr, wandering hall starved in the bush to the north of Marsden. The dog was too weak to travel any distance, so it was brought back to Greymouth for treatment.

Expectations are held that vfhen it is sufficiently strong, to be used it may provide an important clue to Burr’s whereabouts. A search party went out to-day to explore the country round about the spot. Burr has not owned a dog lately, and this was early commented on as a pity as a dog’s keen instinct could have been utilised to great advantage. It w*s remembered yesterday, however, when bushmen reported having seen a stray dog wandering in the bush, that Burr had a way with animals, and that lie had often been seen about with dogs belonging to his friends. A search party, including some relations of; Burr’s, went out to look'for. it. . The dog was. discovered about a mile aiid a half to two miles from Marsden, in the hush .at the back of Maori Creek. He was very syeak, and; could only move very slowly.- .A Only One Direction. The curious tiling that the searchers reported was that the dog would go only in one direction. Attempts were made to lead him away in other directions, but without success. In this one direction, he would make an effort to follow the men. He was not strong enough to go very far, however, and so the searchers carried him to a car and brought him to Greymouth. where he is said to be in the care of the detectives. Bushmen travelling to and from the mill state . that the dog has been around the spot for some time. They have thrown scraps of food to him as (bey have passed in the trolley. Tt is possible, of course, that the dog bad become bushed, and that his inclination to stay about the spot was occasioned by the tact that what food lie had received, had been thrown to him there. It is strange, however, that a cattle dog belonging to the district should become lost so near to Marsden and the trolley line. 1 Apart from this, the search yestccV day was without result. To-day the ..weather was very bad, with heavy rain falling almost unceasingly but the /searchers set out as usual about nine o’clock.

Seven Days’ Searching. Unless the clue of the dog proves successful or chance comes to the aid of the searchers in some other way, it seems likely that the Burr mystery ..will join the many other mysteries for which no solution has even been found. For seven days now a willing hand of searchers has work exploring the dense bushland, with its thick undergrowth, numerous- deep pools and abandoned mine sinkings. They have searched it as thoroughly as was possible under the conditions to do, and have found no trace of Burr. They started again this morning to go over the ground more slowly, but it seems likely that the search will have to he abandoned soon. Burr’s brothers, Cletts, Charlie, Jack and Walter and his brother-in-law, George Hill, however, declare that they will never relax their efforts to find the missing man. Work of the Police. The police, too, have been unremitting in their efforts, and great credit is due to them, and particularly to Sergeant Smyth, for the way the search has been organised and carried out. From the beginning it has seemed an almost impossible task arid time has not made it any easier. They- have had against them not only the nature of the country, but also the weather, which has, with the exception of two days, been very bad, and it will not he their fault if the search is a failure. Hope has not been given up, however, and the men are continuing their task cheerfully. The detectives must nearly have completed their task also, though they have not disclosed the results of their investigations. Circumstantial evidence seems to point to the theory of foul play. The position of the blood on the wall and the big smear on the bottom rung at the head of the wooden bedstead found in Burr’s bedroom seem hard to reconcile with any accident theory.