New Zealand Police confirmed last week that a man had gone missing on Mount Aspiring National Park, on the country’s South Island. According to the police report, emergency services received a report shortly before 5 p.m. on February 6 that “a man had fallen from a rock into the river and had failed to resurface.”

The missing person was soon identified as Hector Gastón Artigau, an Argentine citizen and agricultural technician who is in New Zealand with a working holiday visa. He had been working as a cherry picker in the town of Alexandra, a two-hour drive from the park. The 21-year-old, born in Pergamino, Buenos Aires, was hiking the popular Rob Roy Glacier Track with two friends.

A search team immediately deployed to the area on February 6, but were unable to locate Artigau. New Zealand police confirmed to the Herald that the search and rescue operation is ongoing, including a specialized scuba team and helicopters to assist with aerial searches. 

Artigau was last seen wearing a black tank top, black shorts, and grey trekking shoes. He was also carrying a blue backpack. 

The search operation is publicly funded, but a fundraising campaign has been set up to cover the costs of food and accommodation in the country for Artigau’s mother. 

The Argentine Embassy in New Zealand has offered his mother psychological support, according to Artigau’s friend Santiago Ponce, who was with him in Mount Aspiring. 

The Argentine Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.