Pat Taka: Family try to comb through clues to explain more than two-month disappearance of Hawke’s Bay grandfather

Earle Taka, known as Pat, has been missing since March from his home in Central Hawke's Bay. Photo / NZ Police

The family of missing Hawke’s Bay grandfather Pat Taka say they just want him home, but have only a few clues to help track him down, more than two months on from his disappearance.

Mystery surrounds the missing person case of the long-term Ōtāne resident described by his family as a creature of habit.

Earle “Pat” Taka’s bank card was last used on March 14 at an ATM in Waipukurau, which appears to be the last possible sign of him before his disappearance.

The 67-year-old did not own a car but would hitchhike from his Ōtāne home off State Highway 2 next to Te Aute College to either Waipukurau or Hastings.

This was a part of his weekly routine, where he would collect his pension or do his groceries.

Pat Taka at a family wedding last year. His family is extremely concerned about his whereabouts. Photo / Taka Family

Police have twice made public appeals for help to locate him and his family are extremely concerned.

“We are at a loss. We literally have no clue where he would be or why he has gone somewhere and disappeared,” his daughter Rebecca Black said.

“We don’t know what to do. We are just sitting around [waiting for news] and that is the hardest thing.”

Police say Taka’s last known location was Caltex Waipukurau in early March, however, his bank card was also used at an ATM in Waipukurau in mid-March.

“We are just going off bank statements, and we believe he went missing around March 13 or 14,” Black said, of his card being used at an ATM.

“For him to be gone this long, without accessing any money is very worrying for us.

“Whether he had an accident or anything, we just don’t know.”

She said his four children lived outside of Hawke’s Bay and were notified of his disappearance in late March.

Black said her father had one housemate who was often not at home, as he worked in the bush, and was the first to notice he was missing.

Black said Taka was small in size and his appearance was fairly frail, and it was highly unusual for him to leave home for long periods.

Taka's bank card was last used at an ATM in the town of Waipukurau in Central Hawke's Bay. Photo / NZME

“He is quite quiet. I would say he is a bit of a recluse, he normally just stays home.”

She said her father did not have signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s that she was aware of, but had suffered from short seizures in the past.

He was well known around Ōtāne and had lived there for most of his life, often hitchhiking with people he knows, she said.

“What he would do is sit outside his house [next to SH2].

“There is a little stump there, and he would sit out the front of the driveway and sit there and wait until somebody picked him up.

“If nobody picked him up after a couple of hours he would just go back inside.

Pat Taka had lived most of his life in the Hawke's Bay town of Ōtāne. Photo / Taka Family

“He wasn’t a hitchhiker that walked up the road with his thumb out.”

She said the family had come down from Tauranga and other North Island towns to Hawke’s Bay since his disappearance to look for him themselves, driving around the area.

She urged anyone who may have seen him since early March to please contact police.

Black said the only odd thing about his house after his disappearance was that his reading glasses and belt buckle had been left behind, which he usually took with him.

In the last public appeal, Detective Senior Sergeant Sally Patrick said “police are asking anyone who may have picked Pat up mid to late March, or seen Pat at Caltex Waipukurau, to contact police”.

Taka’s granddaughter Kyla Sivka-Kohu said it had been hard on the whole family.

“We are very concerned and just want him home. It has been too long.”

You can report information that could help police by calling 105 and referencing file number 240416/0517, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.