Seddon Bennington as he appears in an article in Philanthropy New Zealand publication.

Seddon Bennington

New Zealand's national museum Chief found dead on mountain trail

The chief executive of New Zealand's national museum was found dead Wednesday by searchers scouring a mountainous region where he and a friend disappeared during a weekend hike.

Seddon Bennington, 61, did not come home as expected Sunday from an overnight hike in the heavily forested Tararua mountain range 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of New Zealand's capital, Wellington. He had entered the range on Saturday with a female companion, Marcella Jackson, 54, who was also found dead.

Police said the weather in the area where the pair had been hiking had been "atrocious," with snow, wind and rain. Searchers struggled through waist-deep snow before locating the bodies early Wednesday about a half-mile (1 kilometer) from a mountain hut, Inspector Mark Harrison told reporters.

Bennington was the director of the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh between 1994 and 2003 before returning to New Zealand to take charge of the national museum, known by the Maori name Te Papa (Our Place).

He had previously been chief executive of Scitech Discovery Centre in Perth, Australia, and head of the Division of Professional Services at the Western Australian Museum.

Bennington is survived by his wife, Frances, and two sons.

July 14, 2009