KEY POINTS:
Hopes of resolving how a missing Korean tourist met his fate in New Zealand hinge on the author of an anonymous letter sent to police last Friday.
Police searching on the West Coast for items belonging to 25-year-old Jae Hyeon Kim, wound up their hunt near a roadside layby at Four Mile Bridge near Charleston, about 32km southwest of Westport, at the weekend.
They did not locate anything of significance to the investigation, but inquiry head Detective Inspector John Winter said today police hadn't given up on solving the cold case.
Police are now saying publicly for the first time that Mr Kim, who disappeared in 2003 while on a year-long working holiday and was reported missing by his parents in May 2004, is dead.
"Not only do we believe categorically that Mr Kim is dead, but it's highly unlikely that he met his death as a result of accident or natural causes," Mr Winter told NZPA today.
"Having been satisfied of his death, the operating issues now are how, where and the manner of his death."
The police investigation, which began last month during a regular annual review of the missing persons' file, focused initially on the Nelson area, where Mr Kim was last known to have stayed at a backpackers' hostel.
It switched to the West Coast last week after it was revealed Mr Kim made an eftpos transaction in buying a meal, probably for two, at a Westport bar and cafe.
Mr Winter said the intensive search of the layby was prompted by further information from inquiries in the Westport area.
The anonymous letter was further proof police were on the right track, he said.
More information was required and police were appealing to the author to come forward.
"That person obviously made a conscious decision that they had information that they wanted to impart. I believe it's genuine," Mr Winter said.
"It certainly has the potential to be significant. So I'm urging that person to contact me directly, or by any means that they feel comfortable with, to tell us a little bit more."
Police were satisfied the letter was unconnected with information provided earlier to police that sent them to the Charleston layby.
"We've received some other snippets of information that tell us we're on the right track," Mr Winter said.
It seemed information about Mr Kim's death was "privy to probably a small group in the Westport area".
"I think the centre of gravity (for the investigation) very much revolves around Westport," he said.
The anonymous letter showed "someone has a conscience - that this man's disappearance and death actually means something.
"This guy's not just a name and a photograph. It's someone who lived and breathed and has a family on the opposite side of the world who are grieving and want him back."
Mr Winter likened the Kim case to another "missing persons" case involving West Coast drifter and eccentric homosexual James "Janis" Bambrough, reported missing in 1999 but whose body lay undiscovered until 2004. Two men were eventually convicted for his murder.
He vowed police would continue the investigation.
"If anyone thought the unsuccessful search at Four Mile means we're packing up and going home, then I would urge them to think again.
"We're not going away and we will continue probing until we get the answers."
- NZPA
