Police are urgently looking for a man, believed to be an overseas tourist, who may have been badly injured in a brutal daylight assault in Wanaka.
The victim was attacked by three men at lunchtime in Dale Street in Albert Town on Thursday.
Police received many calls from residents saying they had witnessed a ferocious and sustained attack.
Sergeant Simon Paget said on Friday the man managed to flee the scene with a woman in a silver Mitsubishi Chariot, which appeared to be set up nearby for freedom camping.
Police are concerned that the man may be badly injured and if he is from overseas, he may not know how or where to seek medical attention.
Mr Paget is asking anyone who may have seen the man and woman or the car to contact them immediately.
Three men have been arrested in relation to the attack. Two aged 17 and 20, were to appear in Queenstown District Court on Friday charged with assault with intent to injure. A 15-year-old has been referred to the Police Youth Aid Section.