Grief and some relief at tragic discovery

Pastor Russell Watts of the Ranui Baptist Church collects flowers outside the home where Aisling Symes' body was found. Photo / Sarah Ivey

West Auckland parents were counting their blessings yesterday that a nightmare that could have easily been their own was over for the Symes family.

Mother-of-three Ramiri Waenga, who was picking up her 5-year-old, Ronni Stevens, from Pomaria Primary School, said Aisling could have been anyone's baby.

"As a parent you can't be there every minute of the day - it just takes a few seconds. What happened to that lady [Aisling's mum Angela] could easily have happened to me."

Waitakere residents were keenly feeling the tragic circumstances of the 2-year-old's death but there was also a sense of relief, she said.

"We didn't know whether she had been abducted. We were thinking 'were there weirdos around?' The first day back at school [Monday] there was no one walking to school, usually there's heaps. All of a sudden there was none."

Primary, intermediate and high school students teemed around Longburn Rd yesterday, many stopping to read condolence cards in front of the Symes' old home.

Aggie Vavega's 4-year-old attends Lincoln North Kindergarten in the same street. While she'd been wary of the creeks and drains that run behind her home, Aisling's death would make them extra vigilant, she said.

Vincent MacCormack raised a family in the area and his youngest daughter went to school with Angela Symes.

The week's events would take a long time for the community to move on from, he said.

"There's a lot of hurt here. We're all struggling."

Pastor Russell Watts of the Ranui Baptist Church said the loss has been huge for Aisling's parents, but they have been overwhelmed by "beautiful gestures". People had been leaving flowers, cards, gifts and messages at the church and coming in to talk and pray.