Crowds are expected to be gathering in Sanson, Manawatū, as a part of an ongoing search effort by the mother of missing woman Breanna Muriwai.
Muriwai’s mother Jasmin Gray posted on a traffic updates Facebook page to warn commuters of “delays” and “mass congestion” on State Highway 1 this morning.
She claimed to have knowledge that her daughter’s remains were in the area, and had organised a search supported by locals for information.
A local business told the Herald there were “a lot of people on the scene” and a police officer who was helping to reduce traffic congestion.
Muriwai was last seen in August 2022 at Te Horo Beach on the coast. Searches were carried out to locate her, and her movements on the night she disappeared were examined by police.
Muriwai’s mother made a Facebook live post last year, just before the one-year anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance, saying police had told her “she’s not coming home alive”.
In the post, Gray told more than 5000 viewers about her recent discussions with detectives and shared a recording of a conversation with a man who claimed to have information about a purple suitcase police earlier called “significant” to the investigation.
Muriwai 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 at about 11.15am on the Saturday.
They began to head back to Muriwai’s home that evening, picking up another man on the way and continuing south. They stopped along the way several times, with a friend withdrawing money from Muriwai’s bank account during one of the stops.