Eloi Jean Rolland was 18 when he was last seen on CCTV at the Britomart train station in downtown Auckland on Saturday, March 7, 2020. Photo / File
Five years after his disappearance, Eloi Rolland’s mother says it “feels like five days”.
The then 18 year old was last seen on Saturday, March 7, 2020.
That morning he searched Google Maps for directions to Piha at about 5am. He caught a bus. He caught a train. He walked 11km in an hour and 46 minutes. He turned onto Piha Rd at 9.16am. About half an hour later, the battery on his phone went dead.
And then ... nothing. Nothing for five years.
Eloi’s parents, Thierry and Catherine Rolland told The Front Page it’s been difficult.
“Very heartbreaking. We feel very worried. It’s very difficult since he disappeared,” Thierry said. The pair speak broken English well – using a translation app as they go.
“Every day, every night, we think of Eloi. It’s very difficult because we have no news of Eloi.
“We hope always Eloi is safe and in good health. But, it’s very difficult because there is no proof.”
French director Bruno Dupuis of Acapella Productions made a documentary series about Eloi’s disappearance.
He told The Front Page that in France, they didn’t hear much about Eloi’s story in 2020 because of Covid – so he began working with Eloi’s family to retrace his steps in New Zealand by meticulously following his online footprint.
“Before he left, he was a very normal guy. A healthy guy. He was a very good student... And that’s why his parents accepted he stop his studies for one year to go to New Zealand to learn English.
“We discover later, he has some problem in New Zealand. We don’t really know why he start to have some trouble... But, he was very alone,” he said.
While Eloi’s family have said he didn’t show any signs of mental health issues before – he exhibited some strange behaviour in the lead-up to his disappearance.
He fell in love with a French girl in his class who already had a boyfriend. His teacher noticed his mood change, he started acting “weird”. He was sacked from two restaurant jobs. At one, security took a video of him ranting after being thrown out. He sent a video to his parents saying the owner of the hotel he worked at created the coronavirus and wanted to “kill him”.
He spoke of “atomic bombs saving the planet” and a “solution to the virus”, Police said.
“I tried to explain it in my documentary about Eloi, maybe he discovered some new drug. Also maybe, he was very alone, and it’s like a dangerous cocktail to start to have trouble like schizophrenia.”
Dupuis said he’s not a psychiatrist, so he can’t be sure. But, he’s seen the strange videos, the strange stories Eloi shared on social media. “If it’s something like schizophrenia, we know it starts often at this age.”
Whatever Eloi was experiencing, it was clear – he felt he was at it alone. Dupuis combed through hundreds of messages. Amongst them, is a voice recording of Eloi: “Everybody can see I need help, but they don’t,” he said.
“And so what is also very sad about Eloisis that he can understand himself that he has some trouble.
“With more kindness, maybe somebody can help him and say okay, you are sick, we can go to the hospital, see a doctor, and we will help you. But, nobody helped him,” Dupuis said.
Dupuis' documentary series points to activity on Eloi’s social media accounts up to five months after his disappearance.
But, NZ Police have already investigated this and dismissed it.
Waitematā Police Detective Inspector Callum McNeill told The Front Page they established that members of his family were identified as having logged into his social media after he had been reported missing.
“They were trying to find their own answers to his disappearance,” he said.
Documentary maker Dupuis, and the Rollands, think there are endless scenarios about what could have happened to Eloi.
Did he stop somewhere along Piha Rd? Did he encounter a stranger? Did he get into a car? Did he plan an escape? Did he have an accident? Did he get lost in the bush? Is he still alive? Does he want to be found?
In 2022, McNeill told the Herald he thought it was unlikely Eloi made it to the black sands of Piha beach.
“My thoughts are still the bush. He’s potentially tried to take a shortcut to the beach and didn’t realise how far that would be, and over-estimated his abilities. It’s pretty gnarly in there. Is it possible he’s just thought, ‘Well, I think it’s a straight line down here, shouldn’t be a problem,’ and maybe he’s come to grief in the bush somewhere,” he said.
Five years on, and Eloi’s family are still desperate for answers.
When told that the NZ Police file on their son’s disappearance remains open, Thierry and Catherine said they are grateful.
“Because for us,” Catherine said, “It’s very important that Eloi stay in the mind of people in New Zealand, the world, the Earth.”
They hope people with information about their son will still come forward.
Eloi is still officially a missing person. Police continue to follow up on any new leads as they come in.
“We remain hopeful,” Catherine said, “Thank you for everyone’s help.”
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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