KEY POINTS:
A team of private investigators looking into the abduction of six-year-old Jayden Headley believe the boy's grandfather may be hiding out with him in Northland's Waipoua Forest.
It is now three months since Jayden was snatched from the care of his father Chris Jones following an acrimonious and prolonged custody dispute with the boy's mother, Kay Skelton, who has been jailed for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of her son.
Auckland Investigations confirmed yesterday it had made some preliminary inquiries into Jayden's location after being approached by "some interested parties" in the case, and strongly suspected he and grandfather Dick Headley were in Waipoua Forest.
Fifty kilometres north of Dargaville, on State Highway 12, the forest covers 2500 hectares and is home to two of the largest living kauri trees, Tane Mahuta and Te Matua Ngahere.
Detective Sergeant Andy Bubear, who is heading up the police inquiry, yesterday would not rule out the possibility the pair were in Waipoua Forest - but had a "gut feeling" they were holed up at a rural address somewhere in Northland.
To date the Skelton camp have stonewalled police efforts to find Jayden, who last week appeared in a video, apparently filmed by Headley, sent to TVNZ with a letter outlining demands for the return of the boy.
This comes as new details emerge about the background to the case - including claims Jones is not Jayden's father and a suggestion Skelton may be suffering mental health issues. Members of Skelton's family have also accused police of bugging their phones and intercepting their mail in efforts to locate the boy.
They are also angry police executed several search warrants on the home of Dick and Wendy Headley, and claim on one occasion officers climbed through the window of the house while Wendy Headley was still asleep in bed.
Auckland Investigations spokesman Danny Thompson said he was absolutely convinced Jayden and his grandfather were in Northland as the Headleys had family ties there. They had viewed the videotape sent to TVNZ and had taken from that several leads, including the strong suspicion the pair were in Waipoua Forest.
Bubear said what was clear was that Headley was highly organised and had a team of accomplices assisting him.
A team of five officers from Hamilton CIB were working on the case and at this stage they were no closer to finding the pair.
They had visited Northland and searched a specific area, but did not think "they were out and about".
"It has been a well-planned kidnapping and these people have resources.
"We are not getting any assistance from any of the family," he said. "There is no doubt the mother and the grandmother know where Jayden is."
He would not comment on whether police had tapped phones and were intercepting mail, but said "the family can think what they like".
