Gisborne boy Khyzah’s death: Community reels after rural pond tragedy claims life of 5-year-old

The discovery of the body of young Khyzah has sent shockwaves through the rural community of Tiniroto. Neil Reid spoke to relatives, residents and others involved in the earlier search for the boy.

A pall of grief hung over Tiniroto today as a family and community mourned for the loss of 5-year-old Khyzah.

The body of the boy – who was non-verbal autistic – was discovered yesterday afternoon; about 24 hours after he went missing on his family’s farm in the rugged and isolated community.

From Sunday afternoon until mid-afternoon Monday, family members and other kind-hearted residents who travelled from Gisborne and the East Coast joined police and Land Search and Rescue hoping to find Khyzah safe and well.

The volunteers who joined the search ranged from pensioners, and young mums who searched waterways and in scrub with their babies strapped to their backs, to school-aged children.

But those hopes were dashed when the boy’s body was discovered in a pond on the farm. It was a discovery that saw the mood at the Bushy Knoll Rd farm turn from hope to despair.

“The tears flowed,” said one Tiniroto resident – who didn’t want to be named – when they were told Khyzah’s body had been found.

“This is an utter tragedy. We’re a small community. We pretty much all know each other very well. When one of us goes through hurt, we all feel that hurt.

“I can’t imagine the pain it would be for a parent to have to bury their child.”

The small settlement of Tiniroto, about 40 minutes south of Gisborne, is in mourning after the discovery of the body of 5-year-old Khyzah who had earlier been reported missing on Sunday. Photo / Neil Reid

Another told the New Zealand Herald: “I know the family and I know of the boy.

“It is too hard to talk about at the moment. It is just too sad.”

The family property in the wider Tiniroto area – about a 44-minute drive south of Gisborne – is situated in a rugged, yet beautiful setting.

It’s an area where steep hills rise and then drop away from Bushy Knoll Rd, which for a long stretch is a gravel road that has borne the brunt of numerous wild weather systems – including Cyclone Gabrielle – over the past two years.

Motorists have to navigate many large potholes and numerous washouts leading to one-way sections as they drive along the rural route.

The search for the missing boy was at the family farm on Bushy Knoll Rd. Photo / Neil Reid

It’s rugged land, with creeks and ponds a common site on farms throughout the area.

Tragically, it was one of the latter that claimed the life of Khyzah.

‘Our boy’s missing’

Khyzah’s family realised the youngster was missing mid-afternoon Sunday.

The fact Khyzah was non-verbal made the situation even more desperate.

One of his relatives – who would travel down to Tiniroto with about 20 others from the East Coast to join the search – said the boy’s father was among family members who wasted little time in visiting farms in a bid to locate Khyzah.

Khyzah’s family had previously lived on the East Coast before moving to Tiniroto.

“We all felt it in our community when we found out he was missing,” the woman said.

Police coordinate a search for 5-year-old missing boy Khyzah in the Tiniroto. Photo / Gizzie Live

“Your heart sinks and you panic. I’ve got a young son, it is just a horrible thought.”

Three years ago the woman – and scores of other locals – were involved in a search around the Tolaga Bay area after 3-year-old boy, Axle, spent 21 hours lost.

He was eventually found after becoming lost in the bush.

“That rocked us, but we all got involved,” she said.

“It’s especially scary when a young one goes missing on a rural property that could have things like rubbish holes, creeks, rivers, ponds . . . all these ‘unexplored gems’ they want to visit.”

Early Monday morning, the woman approached Cross Country Rentals asking if there was any chance they could help get a search party to Tiniroto.

Hundreds of kind-hearted rural residents travelled to Tiniroto to try and find Khyzah. Photo / Neil Reid

The company provided a 20-seat bus and a driver to get the group south.

“Times are tough [financially], but they were amazing. I rang them at about 6.05am, by 7am they had arranged to put the bus on for us.

“And it wasn’t just us from the up the Coast who had travelled down. There were many other coasties who travelled down to Tiniroto in their private cars.”

The bus had several pick-up points from Tolaga Bay, then Gisborne, before arriving at Tiniroto at about 10.45am.

The group of about 20 then joined hundreds of others who had volunteered their time in a bid to locate the missing boy.

Many were gathered around a woolshed on the property.

“By the time we got there, we were itching to get involved and search wherever needed,” the woman said.

“We had people checking the waterways, areas which had earlier been checked. Others went straight into it going through scrub and heading towards bush.

“The feeling from everyone was that they needed to find Khyzah safe and well.

“On that farm, you had ladies with their 6-month-old babies strapped to their backs joining the search. Everyone was just doing whatever they could to find the boy.”

Khyzah’s dad was also part of the wider search party.

In the family home, the boy’s mother was surrounded by love and support; including from the boy’s grandparents, other relatives and close friends.

Tiniroto is about 40 minutes drive south of Gisborne.

Despite the hopes of finding Khyzah alive, the woman who helped organise the East Coach search party said it was hard to ignore the fear that the boy wouldn’t be found alive.

“People knew [of that fear], but no one wanted to say anything,” she said.

“Sunday night had been terrible in the area. It had been cold and foggy . . . terrible conditions.

“On Monday, everyone just concentrated on doing all they could. And there was really nothing more we could have done.

“People searched every inch of grass; anywhere that could be searched was searched.”

A heartbreaking discovery

Officials in charge of the search had decided that the parties out on the land would head back to the woolshed by about 4pm Monday.

A rescue helicopter – with infrared heat-seeking cameras - was again going to be deployed over the farm to try to find Khyzah.

It was necessary as few people as possible were walking around the property to help the chopper crew zero in on any heat signatures that could be coming from the missing boy.

While searchers were painstakingly scouring their way over the rugged property, the police national dive team were searching a pond about 500m from the family home.

The base of the search for the missing boy. Photo / NZME

Tragically, it was where the body of Khyzah was found - by which time a lot of the volunteer searchers had left the property.

Loved ones rushed to the side of his dad as the boy’s body was later carried away on a stretcher.

As the tragedy sank in, Tairāwhiti police area commander Inspector Darren Paki opened up on the shared pain of the death.

“This is obviously not the outcome we, the searchers, and the community were hoping for, and our hearts go out to Khyzah’s whānau and all those who loved him,” Paki said.

“I would like to thank everyone in the community who has contributed to this effort, whether it was actively searching, or simply providing kai and kind words.

Members of the police national dive squad search in a pond for Khyzah. Photo / RNZ

“We have a wonderful tight-knit community here and we see the best of it in situations like this.”

Khyzah’s death has been referred to the coroner.

‘When a child is involved, everyone just drops tools’

The group of volunteer searchers who had travelled almost two hours to join the search for Khyzah were back on their bus when news reached them that his body had been discovered.

She said it was a “sombre” time as the tragic news set in.

Everyone had hoped as much as they could for a positive outcome.

When formally announcing the discovery of Khyzah’s body, Paki made a point of thanking everyone who helped in the search.

The wider surroundings of the Tiniroto area are rugged, with many farms having ponds, streams and other waterways. Photo / Neil Reid

The co-ordinator of the busload of East Coasters who travelled down on Monday said it was a decision they made without hesitation.

“Whenever a child is involved, everyone drops tools to get involved,” she said.

“You just had to see the mums carrying their babies around trying to help. That tells you something.”

The desire to help – including from people who drove almost two hours south to join the search – epitomised the unity felt within small communities around New Zealand.

In the Gisborne and East Coast regions, it is a spirit that earlier helped many through the destruction of Cyclone Gabrielle.

As Khyzah’s family come to grips with the reality of the loss of their loved boy, that love and support will no doubt be repeatedly displayed.

“It’s what small communities do,” she said.

“One of the Land Search and Rescue ladies said to us, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if the whole of New Zealand was like this’.

“It was the right thing to do. We all came together to help out.”

Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.