Police are grateful to the public for providing information in regards to an incident which occurred while a woman was hitchhiking between Queenstown and Cromwell yesterday.
Today Police have spoken to a number of witnesses who have come forward and as a result have been able to identify the driver of the 4WD vehicle involved.
Police have spoken to the man this afternoon and will continue to speak to a number of other people in coming days as their enquiries continue.
Members of the public can be assured they are at no immediate risk but Police would like to reinforce that people hitchhiking need to take great care before accepting lifts.
Hitchhiking or accepting rides from people you don’t know is not recommended. If you do decide to hitchhike, Police strongly advise you not to travel alone.
Make sure there is always someone who knows where you are going and when you should arrive at your destination.
An option for hitchhikers is to use the SAFE programme run by Spark which allows people to record the vehicle they get into, the time of travel and travel route.
As this investigation is ongoing Police have no further comment at this stage.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre