Police rip up concrete at construction site

Police search and rescue staff continue their search down a hole at an Auckland building site. Photo / NZPA

Police searching for the body of Carmen Thomas spent the third consecutive day at the building site where the man accused of killing her worked.

Today they were ripping up concrete with a jackhammer.

3 News reported police found "odd-shaped" pieces of concrete described as "splatters" down the hole in the corner of the Victoria St construction site that has been the focus of the murder inquiry for the past few days.

A photographer was today lowered down the hole and the pieces of concrete removed by police, said 3 News.

Thirty-two-year-old Brad Callaghan - Ms Thomas' ex-boyfriend and the father of her son - has been charged with her murder. He appeared in court earlier this week and was remanded in custody.

There have been no confirmed sightings of Ms Thomas, 32, since June 27.

Callaghan had been employed by construction company Mansons TCLM, which did work on the site at Victoria Street, Auckland, where investigators have been spending so much time.

A deep hole at the back of the site was first dredged of water, rocks and rubble until the concrete at the bottom was exposed.

Today, searchers were lowered down the hole by crane and passed up chunks of concrete to police at the top.

A jackhammer could be heard pounding at the concrete for much of the day.

Police were not available to comment.

The Herald on Sunday today reported that Tanith Butler, who is eight months' pregnant with Callaghan's child, has been interviewed by detectives.

She has had to vacate her house while it was searched by police, the paper reported.

Ms Thomas' son, Jack, lived with Ms Butler and Callaghan after his mother went missing, but has been cared for by other family members since his father's arrest on Tuesday.

On a Facebook page dedicated to finding her, Ms Thomas' mother, Teresa Scott, said Jack would be going to live with her in South Africa, where Ms Thomas was originally from.

- NZPA