Concern for missing Mangere man

More than a week has gone by since the disappearance of 47-year-old Mangere man Phillip Kingi, and his family is desperate to find out where he is before Christmas.

The father of four, who also has two grandchildren, went missing on December 14, presumably while driving between Rotorua and Auckland.

He left his brother's house at 1am in a bid to make it to Auckland for an early morning breakfast with another family member.

About 40 family members have for the past week scoured the various highway routes he may have taken on the trip.

A massive police effort involving helicopters and specialised search and rescue officers has also been launched, but no clues to the disappearance have turned up.

Police say his bank accounts have not been touched.

It is understood Mr Kingi preferred to take routes off the main highways, making it likely that he turned off SH5 or SH1, most probably on to SH27, which heads northeast of Tirau toward Matamata.

Rotorua senior constable Willie Royal appealed to farmers throughout the Waikato and Bay of Plenty to check their boundary fences for any sign of the vehicle Mr Kingi was driving - a dark blue Toyota Vista, registration TR4622.

Mr Kingi's daughter, Leigh, told the Herald that she and her brothers were to have a pre-Christmas meal together last Saturday, and it was highly unusual for him not to have shown up.

"We're all very worried. If somebody who knows where he is can just make contact with us - it doesn't matter if he doesn't want to speak to us himself - if somebody can contact us, we'd appreciate it." The hope was that her father had gone to take time out with a friend.

He had several friends in Wellington, but involved himself mainly with the family with whom he got on best, she said.

Mr Kingi is a diabetic of large build and is 1.8m in height. He is bald and has a goatee beard.

He is paralysed on one side of his body, from a motorbike accident when he was young.