Police have received new information surrounding the disappearance of Massey teenager Jayden Mamfredos-Nair and continue to urge people to come forward.
Mamfredos-Nair was last seen at West Auckland reserve nearly four months ago after getting into a vehicle with two men who have links to the Head Hunters.
His friends and family have not heard from him since.
Last week police said they held grave concerns about the missing man and confirmed a homicide inquiry had been launched.
They made an appeal for information about what had happened to the 19-year-old since he disappeared without a trace on April 21.
Today Waitematā CIB Detective Inspector Callum McNeill McNeill said police had received some additional, new pieces of information.
“It is too early to say whether this information will progress anything from what our investigation has established so far.
“Operation Violin will continue assessing this information and make follow-up inquiries.
“No additional search warrants have been conducted at this stage, but this may change depending on our inquiries.”
McNeill made a fresh appeal to the public for any information, saying no matter if it was big or small, to contact the police.
“No piece of information is too small and could be crucial to our investigation.”
Last week McNeill had said the investigation team spoke to a lot of people since Mamfredos-Nair was reported missing and a number of search warrants had been executed in West and North Auckland.
“Evidence leads me to believe we are investigating a homicide and Jayden is a victim of foul play.
“We need to find Jayden and provide some closure to his family.”
The missing man’s mother had made a desperate plea for information about her son, saying: “Let’s get him back.”
Mamfredos-Nair was seen at a petrol station 45 minutes before he was seen at Birdwood Reserve.
There he met two associates with links to the Head Hunters gang and got into a late model black Toyota Hilux. That was the last time anybody had seen him, McNeill said.
Mamfredos-Nair had not touched his bank accounts or used social media since his disappearance, which was highly unusual. He also missed celebrating his 20th birthday.
The associates Mamfredos-Nair was last seen with are based in West and North Auckland, McNeill said.
Police had taken statements from parties but not everyone was co-operating.
For those who might know about Mamfredos-Nair’s disappearance, McNeill asked them to forget allegiances to the gang and to contact police on 105, or anonymously on Crime Stoppers.
Mamfredos-Nair’s friends and family had earlier shared social media posts offering a reward to people who had information on his whereabouts.
When Mamfredos-Nair first went missing, Waitematā Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie said officers made a number of extensive inquiries to find him.
“However, these efforts to date have been unsuccessful, and police are now appealing to the public for help,” she said in May, in the fortnight after his disappearance.
“Police have serious concerns for his welfare and want to make sure he is safe, and ask anyone who has seen him to contact police immediately.”
Akula Sharma is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2022. She has previously worked at the Gisborne Herald.
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