Police Hunt For Three Killers

Three armed men, escaped prisoners who later held up, robbed and beat a garage proprietor, abandoned their escape vehicle near a deserted workers' camp in Golden Downs State Forest. The Wellington Arm­ed Offenders Squad moved in. About 20 men from Wellington and Nelson were involved in the hunt for the offenders. They had stolen two 38 revolvers and a 303 rifle, and a quantity of ammunition for the weapons, from the garage own­er. As the police noose closed, word was received that the robbed man had died in hospital. The police were hunting three murderers. The police knew they were after desper­ate men of unlimited cunning. The hunters knew their quarry well. And so they should have. The "escapers" were three members of the armed offenders' squad who were partici­pating in a series of exercises in the Nelson area. Eventually the three offenders were recaptured, but only after they ambushed the police. Detective Inspector B. P. Duncan was in charge of the squad and Inspector W. A. R. Galbraith co­ordinated this search.

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Inspector W. A. R. Galbraith and Detective Senior Sgt B. S. J. Hartley shelter behind stout tree trunks as they cautiously approach the huts where the offenders abandoned their stolen station wagon. Shortly after this exercise, Mr Galbraith was involved in the real thing. He played a key role in the capture of an escaped inmate of Porirua Hospital

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Discussing their next move are Sgt Jim Wright (Nelson), Constable Bryan Nichols (Nelson), Snr Sgt B. A. J. Rowe (Wellington), and Constable D. A. McKibbin and his dog, 'Thor,' (Wellington)

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Operating a radio to keep in touch with patrols is Detective Snr Sgt B. S. J. Hartley, and on the right is Detective Inspector B. P. Duncan

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This was the vehicle the men abandoned near a deserted workers' camp

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Constable G. F. Ralph, a Wellington dog handler, and his good friend, 'Spark,' move in at pace