Despite this, in June Ropata assembled another party to hunt for Te Kooti. His 200 men were split into four groups of 50 and pursued different routes. Ropata commanded one group and Porter another. Being mid-winter, conditions were harsh and by the time Ropata ended his search in early August, three of his men had died of exhaustion while many others were sick. He had succeeded in capturing small groups of Ringatū adherents who claimed to have lost contact with Te Kooti. Once in Gisborne, he received information that Te Kooti may be staying at a site on Lake Waikaremoana. Ropata almost immediately left for the area with a fresh group of Ngāti Porou warriors. Porter, still accompanying Ropata, struck out for sites previously searched to ensure that Te Kooti had not returned to them. He linked up with a Te Arawa party hunting Te Kooti after he escaped them following an attack on his campsite at Waipaoa. In the meantime, Ropata searched the likely areas where he believed Te Kooti might be. However, he became sick, and for most of September stayed in camp in the Mangaaruhe area while his party carried out local patrols. Porter's party had more success, and on 1 September his party surrounded Te Kooti's camp at Te Hapua, although Te Kooti himself escaped. Porter and Ropata, now recovered from his illness, met up at Maungapohatu, and then moved onto Ruatahuna, where they were advised that Kereopa Te Rau, who was one of the Hauhau involved in the murder of Völkner in 1865, was living a few hours away. Kereopa, who had a bounty of £1,000 for his capture, was seized in a surprise raid mounted by the Ngāti Porou party on 18 November. Following this, Tūhoe made peace with the Government, and Ropata withdrew his party, ending the Ngāti Porou campaigns in the Urewera country. The pursuit of Te Kooti was left to the Te Arawa.