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Police investigating the death of a woman who was found wrapped in plastic floating in Auckland’s harbour say her DNA does not match any of their records.
A fisherman found the woman’s body in the water at Gulf Harbour last Tuesday.
Police have not been able to identify her, but released details of her appearance in the hopes of eliciting information from the public.
Police believed she was Chinese. She was wearing patterned pyjama pants and a Chinese-branded singlet when she was found. She was about 160cm tall.
“In saying that, the community can continue to be reassured that Police are committed to holding the person, or persons, responsible to account.”
He thanked those members of the public who had already come forward with information and asked for more.
Police have released photos of blue pyjama bottoms with a pattern on them and an emblem of a singlet a woman was wearing when her body was found in Gulf Harbour. Photos / Michael Craig / Police
He said almost 100 people had phoned police with tips.
“Our team is working hard reviewing this information, as well as CCTV footage, which has been provided as inquiries continue,” he said.
Police have urged anyone with information to contact police on 105 or go online using the ‘update my report’ function and use reference file number 240312/9837. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
‘We’ve got a body’
Fisherman Paul Middleton described the moment he pulled the bag of human remains out of the harbour.
He said he was in the Whangaparāoa area to do some fishing, trying to catch some decent-sized kahawai or snapper.
He had gone to Army Bay in the morning but had not found many fish so went to try around the ferry terminal.
“I [cast] my lure out ... and nothing much was happening, but there was a bag out there.”
Fisherman Paul Middleton hands over his lure to police after finding human remains wrapped in plastic bags in Gulf Harbour on March 12 2024. RNZ / Nick Monro
He said that, at the time, he did not know it was a bag, and thought it was a log or a dead animal. Boats had been passing through the area, near the entrance to the marina, he said.
“Anyway, the wind changed and brought it into the coast. Anything floating in the water brings fish around, so I was targeting it. I got that perfect shot, like millimetres to the side of it.”
He hooked it and pulled it into the shore - it was heavy but easy to move - and managed to pull it up the rocks a little.
“I took the hook out and thought, ‘Right, let’s see if it’s a bag of rubbish and I need to dump it in a rubbish bin or something’.”
Fisherman Paul Middleton found the woman’s body in the water at Gulf Harbour last Tuesday. Photo / Michael Craig
Acting Detective Inspector Tim Williams said police are working with international police agencies as part of their investigation, including Interpol. Photo / Michael Craig
He struggled through “layer and layer” of plastic to open the bag.
There was “a bit of clothing ... and then there was this hand sticking out”.
It was at that point that he called police.
“Two cops turned up and they thought I’d actually said there’s just a hand in a bag and then they went down there and went, ‘Oh no we’ve got a body’,” Middleton said.
