Julian Varley's family have not heard from him in nearly four months. Photo / Supplied
The last time Julian Varley's family saw him was at one of their regular get-togethers the weekend before he disappeared, four months ago.
His sister, Nayah Mitchell, 24, remembers the dinner as just like any other.
"We were over at Mum's. We all had dinner, a few drinks. I think Mum made a roast lamb.
"Julian was really happy. He was his normal, cheeky self,'' she told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
"Nothing was wrong. We were all laughing and having fun. It was like any other time we had seen him."
A few days later, the 31-year-old's blue Nissan Pulsar would be found far down Oropi Rd.
It was on fire and, in a sinister twist police investigators revealed on Thursday, was later found to have several bullet holes.
The last known sighting of the father-of-two, who has another child on the way, was Thursday, January 23. Neither his cellphone nor his bank cards have been used since, and he has not been in touch with his tight-knit family.
Police have established that at 2.40am that day, Varley used an ATM at a shopping centre in the Lakes, not far from his home in Pyes Pa.
About 3pm, he was seen in Chadwick Rd, Greerton. Shortly after, cameras captured his blue Nissan Pulsar travelling through the Greerton shops to State Highway 29A, turning off on to Poike Rd. It was found in Oropi about 10 hours later.
Mitchell said her cousin found the car while out searching for Varley.
Police told them about the bullet holes "a couple of weeks after".
"It was heartbreaking. I sat down and cried all day. I don't know what to think."
Mitchell said she and her family were trying to keep an open mind about what happened to Varley, and "keep the faith" he would be found.
Police too are considering various scenarios.
"It could be that Julian was hurt, that he's gone into hiding, or that something else has happened," Detective Alan Kingsbury said in a segment on Police Ten 7 aired on Thursday night.
He said police had grave fears for Varley's safety and encouraged anyone who had seen him since January 23 to come forward.
Mitchell said the family had no idea what her brother would be doing in Greerton or "out the middle of nowhere" in Oropi.
It was one of many questions she was frustrated to have no answer for in his disappearance.
"It eats at me every day.
"I don't know what happened, I just know that something has gone wrong. People don't just disappear off planet Earth.
"But at the end of the day, if we find him that won't matter. We won't care about all those other questions. We just want to find him."
She said the family searched for him every day, checking back roads and down banks and in areas of bush from Maketu to Te Puna, "just trying to find a trace of him".
They were forced to stop when the Covid-19 lockdown started in March.
"It was horrible not to be able to go out and look for him. It ripped me to shreds every day ... just feeling useless.
"I know my brother would be out every single day looking for me."
They planned to resume searching yesterday. She was grateful to know police were still looking for him as well.
Prior to him going missing, his family had seen nothing to suggest he could be mixed up in anything bad, Mitchell said.
She described her brother as an approachable person who was always busy and "friends with everyone".
He liked keeping fit but he wasn't into gyms, preferring scenic runs around the Mount or up Papamoa Hills. He also loved hiking, fishing and kayaking. He also had a pet pig named Chubbs.
He was cheeky, she said.
"You were always laughing at the end of a conversation."
Varley grew up in Tauranga and Te Puke, one of Christine Varley and Gavin Mitchell's four children: Julian, Victoria and twins Nayah and Michael.
Mitchell said her brother had a variety of jobs, from working at meatworks to installing windows. When he disappeared, he was picking strawberries.
"He wanted to be a truck driver when I last talked to him."
She described him as an "amazing dad".
"He loved his kids more than anything."
His two young children were from a previous relationship. Varley had been with his current partner a few years and she is due to have their first baby in a few months.
Not long after, Mitchell will be due to have her own daughter, having found out she was pregnant a few weeks after her brother broke his good news.
"We were excited to have our kids together."
She said Varley's children had been told he was missing, but it was hard for them to understand.
She said if he had "just gone bush", he better have a good reason. But even if he didn't have one, she would welcome him home.
"We love you, please come home. We miss you so much."
Mitchell said anyone sitting on information about what happened to her brother should "have a heart" and tell police.
"I definitely think someone out there knows something and they need to speak out."
She said the family were supporting each other through everything as best they could.
"But we haven't had another dinner since that last one. It's just not the same. I don't think it will be the same until he comes home."
HAVE YOU SEEN JULIAN?
• He was last seen on January 23 in Greerton wearing a tie-dye T-shirt and shorts
• Car last seen turning off SH29A to Poike Rd later that day
• Blue and white 1998 Nissan Pulsar, registration DST993
• Call 0800 107 4636 and hit #3 to speak with the investigators
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