A man's body was discovered in the surf of a wild west coast beach in Kaipara by a member of the public. Police reported the man was found face down in the water south of Omamari Beach, around 30km northwest of Baylys Beach, around 10.45am on Sunday. A spokesperson said initial enquiries indicated he had been fishing alone at the time in a remote area of the beach. An ambulance attended the scene and the man was confirmed
deceased. The death will be referred to the Coroner.
Trust working bee
Whangaroa Community Trust is holding a working bee to spruce up the paint job at Kaeo playground and remove graffiti from 10am on Sunday, November 28. It will be followed by a community sausage sizzle to celebrate a new shade sail funded by the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board.
Investigation into child's death
Northland police are investigating the sudden death of a 5-week-old baby boy in Ruakākā. Detective Inspector Bridget Doell said officers were called to an address in the coastal settlement, 30km south of Whangārei, on Friday morning. She said the baby died at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics. Police are speaking with a number of people and were not in a position to comment further at edition time.
Gun, club wielded at shop
A Whangārei store owner was confronted by three men armed with a sawn off shotgun and a golf club on Tuesday morning. The man's wife said he had been serving a customer at their store, Young's Supermarket on Mill Rd around 6am, when the trio stormed in and yelled for everyone to get down. She said one of the men pointed the shotgun at her husband before using it to try and smash the glass screen around the counter. Fortunately her husband was able to edge his way around the shop to the back storeroom where the couple locked the door and waited for police. The woman said the men had fled the store with a stash of stolen cigarettes. A police spokesman said officers quickly located the vehicle and were confident they knew the identities of those involved. Police inquiries were still ongoing.
Two crashes
It was a sleepless Sunday for volunteers of the Rawene Fire Brigade with two crashes six hours apart. In the first a car rolled on State Highway 12 at Waimamaku just after midnight leaving the driver and sole occupant with serious leg injuries. Fire chief Zak Bristow said he was transported to Rawene Hospital then airlifted to Whangārei. The volunteers got home around 4am only to be woken again at 6.40am, this time when a car hit a power pole on SH12 at Whirinaki. In that case the driver fled before emergency services arrived. Bristow said the pole had been sheared off leaving power lines suspended about 2m above the road. Firefighters had to reduce traffic to one lane for three hours until contractors arrived.
