Body named as missing student Jack

Jack Ma

Two-and-a-half weeks after Jack Ma's disappearance in June, his father John and younger brother Shane went public with an appeal for information on the missing man.

"We are praying for you all the time.

"We love you so much Jack. Please come back."

Between sobs, John Ma said: "If you cannot come back for some reason, it's okay ..."

Sad, prophetic words.

A partially decomposed body found in bush close to the Albany Highway in Glenfield has been confirmed as that of the missing Korean student.

His body was found by a passerby at about 2pm on Tuesday, about 150m from the main road. Police said yesterday that his body had been forensically identified.

Mr Ma, 23, whose Korean name is Young Wook Ma, was reported missing by his parents on June 14, two days after he was last seen at the Unsworth Heights home where he lived with his parents.

He disappeared with only his house key and his cellphone. He was not carrying his wallet or any extra clothing, and his bank account was untouched.

His cellphone worked for two days after his disappearance before the battery went flat.

Jack Ma had been a student at the Newmarket campus of Wintec (Waikato Institute of Technology), studying for a National Certificate in Computing. The course finished at the end of June.

He also had a part-time job at the New World bakery in Birkenhead.

A month after he disappeared, and with reported sightings in Palmerston North and Browns Bay discounted, police were baffled.

They had searched parks and reserves around the family home with no result. They viewed footage from a security camera from his supermarket workplace - no luck. Friends, family and colleagues had no idea where Jack might be.

It was out of character for the young man to stay away from home without telling his family.

His parents did not believe that he had run away, and had no reason to think that he might take his own life. Police did not believe that Jack had been kidnapped, as no ransom demand was ever received.

John Ma thinks that Jack may have gone for a walk on the afternoon of his disappearance.

He was last seen by his mother before she went out at 1.30pm, and a family friend spoke to him on the phone at about 2pm. When his mother returned at 5.30pm the front door was still locked but Jack was gone.

Part of John Ma's plea has been answered. His son has been found. How and when he died have yet to be determined.

The matter has been referred to the coroner.