Queenstown, 25 September 2026 - Coastguard Queenstown has been supporting a Police-led search and rescue operation for Erika Rodrigues Coelho, a 47-year-old Brazilian national living in Queenstown who has been missing since Friday 18 September.
Police were told of Erika's disappearance on Sunday 20 September. The following day, her rental vehicle was found at Skippers Saddle near Coronet Peak. Police have established it was parked there sometime in the afternoon or evening of Friday 18 September.
With a mountain tarn (pond) close to where the vehicle was found, Coastguard Queenstown's underwater drone was brought in to search the water. Underwater drone operator,
Stephen Jarvis with Coastguard Queenstown, worked from the old jetty on the tarn to search below the surface – an area that can't be checked from the shore or the air.
It's a reminder that our work doesn't stop at the coast. Our inland units bring specialist skills and equipment to the wider search and rescue network, often in remote places far from the water most people picture when they think of Coastguard.
Coastguard Queenstown has been one part of a large team effort. Police say Land Search and Rescue volunteers have spent hundreds of hours searching the Shotover, Devil's Creek and nearby catchments, along with points of interest and possible routes from where the vehicle was left. Drones and a helicopter have also been used.
Otago Lakes Central Area Prevention Manager, Senior Sergeant John Fookes, has acknowledged the efforts of the volunteers involved, some of whom have given up work and other significant commitments to help, while also responding to other search and rescue callouts during the same period.
Sadly, Erika has not yet been found, and our thoughts are with her family and friends.
