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A fresh shoreline search for missing father Joseph Ahuriri north of Napier has ended with police disappointed they have been unable to find anything to help solve the 14-month-long mystery.
Two diggers were put to work near the Esk River mouth on Monday and Tuesday to search for any sign of the Gisborne man or his white Toyota Hilux, missing since the Cyclone Gabrielle flooding on the morning of February 14 last year.
But in a display of the police determination to find answers for the family, Eastern Police officer Detective Sergeant Alex Simister, who worked in the midst of the cyclone drama as it unfolded in the valley, said police are keeping an “open mind” on what happened to Ahuriri and the vehicle and will follow up on any information, and carry out further searches if needed.
The search was sparked by evidence of a subterranean metallic field gleaned from a drone sweep with a GNS magnometer last year. However, the search - when conditions were suitable - found nothing relevant despite excavation several metres deep.
The earlier investigations had revealed a band of storm debris on the ocean floor out to sea but nothing resembling any motor vehicles.
Thus, what little is known of the missing father-of-eight’s night in Hawke’s Bay remained unchanged. He appeared to have tried to return to Gisborne on the night of February 13, found the way blocked by a slip, checked in to a motel and resumed his attempt to get home early in the morning.
The last evidence of his and the vehicle’s whereabouts is CCTV recording of a refuelling stop pre-dawn at the Waitomo station on State Highway 2 near Petane Domain, between Hawke’s Bay Airport and Bay View.
His family were at the beach site on Tuesday hopeful the latest search would provide some closure, and Simister said they were being kept informed throughout the ongoing inquiry.
The area of interest identified by the magnometer was a “metal-like object of interest around five metres below the surface”, but he reiterated the in-depth hunt, using an excavator to move “around 2000 cubic metres of sand” found nothing relevant.
Police at the scene of the search on Tuesday just north of Napier at the Esk River mouth. Photo / Warren Buckland
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to locate Joseph or any items of interest in relation to his disappearance,” he said. “The result of this search is a disappointing one for us. We have been committed to finding Joseph since he went missing 14 months ago.
“I want to acknowledge the resilience of his family throughout this operation,” Simister said. “They were present at the river throughout the search and were obviously hopeful for some form of resolution. We will continue to search for answers.”
Gisborne man Joseph Ahuriri, who has been missing since last February. Photo / Supplied
Two excavators were moved into the area on Sunday and an area of beach was cordoned with police tape during the latest search.
With family of the man on-site, a woman could be seen hugging a police officer in the group as the search appeared to come to an end.
Police tape at the Esk River mouth where investigations were undertaken today. Photo / Warren Buckland
A Napier resident visited the site on Tuesday and prayed for Ahuriri’s family, saying: ”It is very, very sad. I hope it [helps them find him]. Hopefully it will bring the family some closure.”
After being spotted at a deserted truckstop in Napier at 5.46am on February 14, Ahuriri drove north on SH2, attempting to get back to his home in Gisborne on a trip that later mystified family members because of the conditions that were unfolding.
As Cyclone Gabrielle battered Poverty Bay - and started tracking down to Hawke’s Bay on what would be a deadly wet-weather pounding with multiple fatalities in the region - Ahuriri left Gisborne about 4pm on February 13, and thought he he would be able to return that night.
Excavators also worked at the Esk River mouth north of Napier on Monday. Photo / Warren Buckland
“Knowing how that guy is, he would have tried to get through,” a family member had said. “He would have thought, ‘I can do this. I know the roads. I can make it’. My daughter did everything to beg him to stay but he was like, ‘I will be alright Cuz, I just need to get home’.”
