A group of people who lost a friend in an apparent drink-driving fatality in the Kaimai Ranges were robbed as they tried to raise the alarm.
Auckland man Bevan John Reeves, 31, was with a group of people camping in the Kaimai Ranges between Te Aroha and Katikati at the weekend. The area is accessible only to four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Sergeant Graham McGurk says Mr Reeves drove his vehicle to a lookout on the summit at Thompsons Track at about 2am on Sunday, but went over the edge of the cliff.
The four-wheel-drive vehicle slid about 100 metres down a bank in thick bush.
Police say when his friends went back down Thompsons Track to get help, one of their vehicles had been stolen.
Mr McGurk says the group had been drinking and police are considering what part alcohol played in the death.
Fire Service station officer Roger Clark says the recovery on Sunday was difficult. A special crew had to be called in to abseil down the steep drop to reach the vehicle.
