Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times from his Bay of Islands home, Cruickshank said earlier that day a close family member emailed him asking for his help.
"I immediately rang the person and we spoke for about 10 minutes. I then asked to speak to the someone who would understand the message I was about to relay," he said.
Cruickshank said a couple of days earlier a kaumatua appeared at his bedside who gave him a message about where Mohi was lying and his body position.
At the time he did not understand the relevance of this visitation as he had not read or heard any media reports about Mohi's disappearance, he said.
Cruickshank said Tapsell-Walters phoned about 11.30am and spoke for about eight minutes, and both also searched for two sets of skid site marks on Google Maps.
"I told Ronnie her grandfather could be found in the centre of those marks in a gullied area and sent her a photograph of the specific place to look," he said.
"Ronnie was so excited and told me she knew exactly where that was. She was out the door moments later," he said.
"While I was talking to Ronnie my heart was fluttering and we had an instant connection. It was the most poignant connection I have had in my whole career. It's hard to describe.
"It was so beautiful that I drove to Maketū from my Bay of Islands home the next day with my good friend Pai so I could give Ronnie the biggest hug in person."
Cruickshank said the Mohi whānau were a "wonderful family" and he got the chance to visit the place where John's body was found, and they shared prayers and sung a waiata.
It was a privilege to help this "beautiful family" to ease their pain and suffering, he said.
Mohi's tangi was held at Whakaue Marae in Maketū on February 20. The cause of death is yet to be established by the coroner.
A police spokeswoman said: "While we can't comment specifically on the information provided by Mr Cruickshank, we were grateful for all the information we received while Mr Mohi was missing."
