Missing man may have faked death

Millbrook Resort. Photo / Supplied

Matheww Hamill lived in one of New Zealand's most beautiful spots.

He seemed happily married with a family. He was a manager at one of the country's most exclusive resorts.

When he disappeared in 2008, leaving a suicide note in his unlocked car at the Roaring Meg lookout near Queenstown, friends and colleagues were astonished and grief-stricken.

Now, police have reopened investigations into his death amid suspicions that he could still be alive.

The 60-year-old went missing at Kawarau Gorge on October 29, 2008, prompting extensive land and river search of the surrounding area. But his body has never been found.

That morning, Hamill had gone to work as usual; he was the food and beverage controller at the exclusive Millbrook resort outside Queenstown. The last confirmed sighting of him was that afternoon, purchasing weed killer from a Frankton store. His silver Mitsubishi Diamante sedan was later found unlocked at the Roaring Meg power station lookout.

"Inside there was a note indicating he was going to take his own life and some of his personal items were found by the bank of the river," Detective Matt Jones, of Queenstown police said. It is believed the weed killer was also found at the river bank. The general manager of Millbrook, David Onions, knew Hamill well and said there was no hint of what was going to happen in the days leading up to the disappearance.

"It was completely out of the blue. There were no sign."

Hamill was born in Northern Ireland but had been living in Queenstown with his wife.

She also worked at Millbrook, but family members passed on a message saying they did not want to comment as they were not expecting anything to come from the investigation.

"As far as the family is concerned, Matthew is dead and they have moved on. The thought that he may still be alive is not something they want to contemplate." Detective Sergeant Grahme Bartlett, said police had expected they would have found the body by now.

"There are thousands of tourists through the area each year," he said. "There was no indication of depression."

He added: "We cannot rule anything out."

There had been no sightings of Hamill and there had been no activity in his bank accounts since the time of his disappearance.

He has a tattoo of a black and green turtle on his right shoulder. Police have requested anyone with information call Detective Matt Jones at Queenstown Police.

joseph.barratt@hos.co.nz