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Residents in Matauri Bay and nearby Mahinepua in the Bay of Islands are shocked that kidnapped 6-year-old Jayden Headley appeared to have been kept in their area for five months.
Hamilton police said yesterday they had arrested two residents from the area and charged them with kidnapping Jayden.
The two - a part-time labourer aged 38 and his partner, a woman aged 36 - will appear in the Kaikohe District Court today.
The man also faces drug charges.
Jayden's grandfather Dick Headley - who is in custody - and his mother, Kay Skelton, have also been charged with kidnapping the boy. They are to appear in court again on Tuesday.
A Matauri Bay Top Shop employee, who did not want to be named, said residents saw police on the beach about 6am yesterday.
She had seen nothing suspicious in the area over the past six months, but said many people had holidayed there. "I've seen plenty of boys and their grandfathers, so I wouldn't know who is who."
Camping ground owner Brian Grimwood said sudden attention on the area had come out of the blue, although there was also some focus on an area north of Matauri Bay.
"If he [Jayden] has been up there in Mahinepua, that's 15 minutes away. It's a little place with a few million-dollar homes but the rest of it is like downtown Baghdad."
Mahinepua Rd resident Andrea Thackwray said she had seen nothing suspicious over the past few months.
"But I'm really shocked that little boy was hanging around here and nobody noticed."
There was plenty of bushland and forests in the area.
"Most of the homes are on 10-acre blocks. If you were in one of those houses you would be hidden away, because many are quite private."
Another resident, Vicky Corbin, said it would not surprise her if Jayden had been held in the district.
"We get all sorts up here. Northland has a lot of different types coming and going. Usually the bush telegraph works, though, if someone has seen something."
The head of the kidnapping investigation, Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Page said a search of the arrested couple's Northland property gave police evidence relevant to the abduction.
Yesterday's search coincided with a second search in Horotiu.
Detectives spoke to a 61-year-old Horotiu woman in relation to the kidnapping. However, Mr Page would not say whether charges against her were likely.
