KEY POINTS:
The day started like any other. It was Monday, February 25 and Siegfried Newman dropped his two boys off at their local country school in Katikati, 35km northwest of Tauranga, before returning home.
Newman was spotted in Katikati a few hours later, buying a bunch of frozen meals for dinner, but after that there is little idea of the 49-year-old's movements.
Alarm bells weren't raised until that afternoon when the usually punctual solo father left his boys, Thomas, 9, and Oliver, 7, waiting at the school gate. Police were called in by 6pm and local farmers were asked to check their out-houses and bush lines.
An extensive three-day search and rescue failed to locate the father-of-two - and now, two weeks on, Newman's extended family is starting to fear the worst.
It's tough. Not only are they clinging to the faintest of faint hopes, they also have had to rally around Thomas and Oliver, who now face the prospect of being orphans.
It was only four months ago the two boys lost their mother, Vicki-Lee, 48, to a year-long battle with cancer.
Family members say Newman's disappearance could possibly be linked to the distress he was going through over his wife's death.
The couple met at a backpackers' hostel in Thailand in 1990 and after enduring a long distance relationship eventually married in Foxton in 1995.
After living in Hamilton for a time, the couple moved to Katikati for lifestyle reasons but, in February last year, Vicki-Lee was diagnosed with cancer. Despite extensive chemotherapy treatment she succumbed to the disease on November 9.
"He's had some real serious issues since my sister passed away," sister-in-law Tracey Newman said.
"But the people that have been supporting and caring for him have said even on his roughest days, when he felt he couldn't go and pick up the boys, he would always arrange someone to get them. So it's out of character."
According to close family friends, Newman had been distressed after the death of his wife, but had good support from the local community with friends cooking meals in an effort to help him through the ordeal. "We just can't comprehend what's happened," Newman said.
Family friends have taken the boys in while the search for answers continues.
"The boys are going to school every day," said the boys' uncle, Brian Hewitson. "We're trying to keep as much stability and normality in their lives as we can at this stage."
He knew Newman was doing it tough after the death of his wife, but said that he was a devoted father who would "never have done anything like this before".
Police said they were confident there was nothing sinister in Newman's disappearance.
If you have seen Newman, or have information, call Tauranga police on (07) 577 4300.
