TV sergeant joins forces with Northland police to recover stolen property

Neill Rea stars as Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd in The Brokenwood Mysteries. Photo / South Pacific Pictures

A TV policeman’s stolen property was recovered thanks to Northland police, a couple of amateur sleuths and his own detective work.

Actor Neill Rea, who plays Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd in NZ police drama The Brokenwood Mysteries, was the victim of crime when his kayak was stolen from Wellingtons Bay (Whangaumu Bay) on Labour Day.

Rea, who grew up in Taranaki and now lives in Auckland, was staying at his family’s nearby bach, which he has been visiting since he was a child.

When he discovered his kayak was missing, he initially thought his nephew must’ve taken it out.

“We went ‘round the neighbourhood and asked people if they’d seen anything. There’s a couple, who don’t want to be named but are sort of real neighbourhood sleuths, who had seen something,” Rea said.

They gave a description that “ended up being almost right”, he said.

The people who were believed to have taken the kayak then came back to the beach the next day, and the pair of sleuths took photographs of their car.

While the real police were following leads in relation to the car (assisted by footage from locals’ CCTV cameras), Rea searched Facebook Marketplace for any sign of his stolen property.

“I’d done a search on Facebook Marketplace back in Auckland, and I saw two listings in the Far North, Kerikeri and Russell, and it was the same kayak - and it was my kayak.”

Neill Rea (third from left) with the cast of The Brokenwood Mysteries. Photo / Supplied

On the listing, the sellers claimed the kayak was only a year old - which was untrue - and said it didn’t come with “oars”, rather than paddles.

Rea promptly got in touch with Sergeant Paul Nicholas at Kamo Police Station, who Rea said had been “really helpful all along”.

Nicholas then arranged a “sale” with the people who put up the listing, posing as a buyer who wanted to see the kayak.

“They gave us the address and we drove in, and they were a little bit surprised,” Nicholas said.

Police were told the kayak was an unwanted birthday present, Nicholas said.

“Enquiries are still ongoing to find the person who gave them the kayak.”

The kayak was of a type that was unique in its colouring and easily identifiable, Nicholas said.

Rea hoped to return to Whangārei soon to collect the kayak and meet Nicholas in person - they had only communicated via phone and email. After recovering the kayak, Nicholas emailed Rea a photo of the kayak on top of his police car.

Nicholas said he did not initially realise who Rea was, confusing him with his brother Iain (also an actor), who he already knew.

“Then I looked him up and said, ‘I’ve seen that guy before’ - I knew he was out of Brokenwood.”

The case showed the value of neighbourhood support groups and the community camera initiative, Nicholas said.

“They all know each other out there and they all knew about the theft of this kayak, so they were all pretty happy to help out with looking through the footage.”

Community Cam is a not-for-profit community initiative where people can upload their own CCTV footage to help police solve crime in their own neighbourhoods. People can register, upload footage and find more information at https://www.communitycam.co.nz/.