Tramper's remains retrieved

The remains of tramper Irina Yun, feared drowned in Mt Aspiring National Park last New Year's Eve, have been found.

Ms Yun, 36, who was tramping alone, went missing on December 31 last year. She was last seen on the Cascade Saddle Track.

A Land Search and Rescue team found her backpack in the Dart River and suspected she had been swept away after trying to cross a side creek that was in flood.

Last weekend another team, led by Dave Krehic, of Christchurch, who was involved in the original search, and his trained dog Stig, found some of her bones after searching a 7km stretch of the upper Dart Gorge.

The bones have since been formally identified by a pathologist.

Ms Yun's former partner, Oleg Amiton, who conducted his own private search in January, said when contacted he was relieved because it meant "there was no more uncertainty about what happened".

The team was on a training exercise and used the area where Ms Yun went missing to search for any new clues since river levels were low.

"The dog played the most important role, indicating the body. If it wasn't for him we would have gone straight past it," Mr Krehic said.

Mr Amiton, who lives in Auckland, where Ms Yun was also from, said he had not been back to Wanaka since the search but had been contacted by LandSAR about its intentions to revisit the area.

Wanaka Search and Rescue co-ordinator Aaron Nicholson said police had also been in contact with her current boyfriend and best friend about the news, who were very relieved as well.

They had not been made aware of the search because the team hadn't wanted to raise anyone's hopes and were completely surprised by the news, he said.

Mr Nicholson confirmed the find and said the case had now been referred to the coroner, who would open an inquest.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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