Attributable to Senior Sergeant Ian Kerrisk:
Police continue to make inquiries to locate a person of interest near Cromwell today.
This afternoon a search was conducted on foot and by helicopter in the Lowburn area.
This was as a result of receiving information that there was a person of interest in relation to an incident in Dunedin last night, who was in the Lowburn area and in possession of a firearm.
Given that possibility, for the safety of everyone involved, cordons were put up and the Armed Offenders Squad brought in as a precaution, and to clear the area.
Police also followed up several reported sightings of possible persons of interest, and were able to eliminate some people who were found in the area from our inquiries.
The person of interest has not yet been located, but we are now confident there is no safety concern or risk to members of the public in the area.
As a result the cordons have now been stood down, although a highly visible police presence remains.
We are in close liaison with the family of the person of interest, and continuing to work with them.
We urge this person, or anyone in touch with him, to please come forward to Police so we may resolve this matter safely.
We are reminding people right through the Lowburn and Cromwell area to ensure that any vehicles are locked and buildings are secured, and that any suspicious activity is reported to police immediately on 111.
This is a small, close knit community, and locals will notice anyone out place, and we urge them to ring us immediately if so.
Some locals who left the area this afternoon were not allowed back for several hours, and we are grateful for their patience and understanding. While we understand the disruption for some, it was to ensure the safety of all involved, which is our primary concern.
Our inquiries are continuing but we remain hopeful that the person of interest will contact us so we can resolve this.
There will be a visible police presence in the area overnight.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre