Police say their goal is to bring Breanna Muriwai home. Photo / Police
Police say their goal is to bring Breanna Muriwai home. Photo / Police
About this time a year ago, 22-year-old Breanna Muriwai was vanishing from sight, into the darkness at Te Horo Beach.
The Kāpiti nursing student hasn’t been seen in the long months since, but police remain confident “someone out there knows what happened”.
Muriwai’s disappearance is steeped in mystery, including questions swirling around the location of a purple suitcase found on the beach the morning after she was last seen. The bag, found with Muriwai’s handbag, also vanished from the beach later that day.
Police have spent “thousands of hours” trying to locate Muriwai, who was 22 when she went missing from Te Horo Beach on August 28, 2022.
Breanna Muriwai was captured with a male associate on the CCTV of a Palmerston North liquor store. Photo / NZ Police
“We do believe someone out there knows what has happened to Breanna. Our goal is to conclude this investigation, find Breanna and help provide answers for her family. It’s not appropriate to share some of that detail at this time,” police said in a statement.
“Our investigators are still reviewing evidence, following up leads, and remaining focused on finding Breanna.”
Meanwhile, Muriwai’s loved ones are offering a $10,000 reward “for the recovery of Breanna”.
The reward, shared on the Facebook page Unite for One, Unite for All, is for information that “must lead to the recovery of Breanna Muriwai”.
Muriwai’s mother, Jasmin Gray, continues to post often on social media about her search for her daughter.
Gray earlier told the Herald Muriwai was many things – outgoing and vibrant with a passion for the outdoors, and a wicked sense of humour that always “turned a low into a good laugh”.
She was in the process of completing a nursing course and looking forward to a career in healthcare.
“She is so determined and focused on her studies and she was thriving so well before she was taken from us.
“We’re barely managing or functioning. It’s like all time has come to a standstill.”
What is known about Breanna Muriwai’s disappearance?
Investigators believe two men who were with Muriwai before she disappeared hold the key to what happened.
But several interviews with the pair have raised more questions than answers, according to Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Thompson.
Muriwai, who lived on the Kāpiti Coast, was picked up on the Friday before her disappearance by a male friend from Wellington. They travelled to Palmerston North where they stayed until Saturday night.
The last CCTV images of Muriwai were captured at a liquor store in Palmerston North about 11.15am on the Saturday.
The purple suitcase was found by a member of the public just hours after Breanna Muriwai's disappearance, but was removed from the beach later that day. Photo / NZ Police
That evening, police say she wanted to return home to Paraparaumu and her friend from Wellington agreed to take her.
They began to head back, picking up another man on the way and continuing south.
They stopped shortly before 1am at Kimberley Reserve near Levin for a short time before continuing to Ōtaki, where her friend withdrew money from Muriwai’s bank account.
The trio then drove a short distance before parking outside Hunting and Fishing in Ōtaki’s main street, police believe.
They then travelled to meet a fourth person at Hyde Park on the corner of State Highway 1 and Te Horo Beach Rd.
At this point, Muriwai and the two people she was earlier travelling with drove to Te Horo Beach Rd, parking on the beach access on Sea Rd.
“Breanna is reported to have run off down the beach and has not been seen since,” Thompson said.
“Her phone stopped polling earlier in the night and her bank account has not been touched.
The Peugeot police sought sightings of in connection with Muriwai's disappearance. Photo / NZ Police
“She has not been in contact with family or friends, nor has she accessed her social media accounts.
“This is completely out of character for her.”
Police have still not found the purple suitcase that was seen with Muriwai’s waterlogged phone and handbag by the beach access of Te Horo on the same day she disappeared.
The suitcase was opened by a member of the public, who took photographs of its contents. But by the time this information reached the police, the suitcase had been removed and it has not been seen since.
The green Honda police sought sightings of in connection with Muriwai's disappearance. Photo / NZ Police
Police earlier asked to hear from anyone who may have seen a silver Peugeot on the night of August 28, 2022, in the area of Kimberley Reserve, Otaki Main Rd, Hyde Park, Te Horo Sea Road beach access, Peka Peka and the former Marycrest school area.
They believe the suitcase came from the Peugeot and belonged to one of the men who was with Muriwai.
Police are also interested in hearing from anyone who saw a green early model Honda from the early hours of Monday, August 29, 2022.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 105 phone service, referencing file number 220829/5320. Reports can also be made online at https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 and using ‘Update Report’.
Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
