Jan Burton was last seen at her Kinloch home on Wednesday morning.
Jan Burton was last seen at her Kinloch home on Wednesday morning.
Missing Taupō woman Jan Burton has still not been found despite search efforts at the weekend.
Police and Land Search and Rescue teams searched the Kinloch and Kawakawa Bay areas over the weekend as they continued to look for Burton.
Police have previously said the 51-year-old was last seen at her Kinloch home at 7am on Wednesday last week and her family are increasingly concerned for her welfare.
In an update on Friday night, Taupō area commander Inspector Phil Edwards said Burton was last seen on a walking track near Kinloch.
The tracks stayed open over the weekend to the public, but Edwards had asked the public considered the teams as they continued searching for Burton.
“If you happen to come across Jan-Marie please stay with her and telephone police via 111,” he said.
Kinloch Neighbourhood Support’s Simon Smith told the Rotorua Daily Post on Friday members of the community had put their hands up to help in the search.
He said there were lots of offers on social media and several had sent direct emails.
“The big issue is where do we search? We’re not wanting to put other people in danger. If there are people who aren’t experienced searching in rugged terrain, we don’t want to end up looking for someone else.”
Smith said police had contacted him two nights ago to get help from Neighbourhood Support to make the community aware that Burton was missing.
Jan Burton was last seen at her Kinloch home on Wednesday morning.
Smith’s advice to locals and anyone keen to help was to check their properties, be vigilant, and report any sightings to the police.
He also urged those going on local trails to “keep an eye out”.
Though this was 20 years ago, the Waihī couple remember it to this day, and say the generous act reflects “the type of person she is”.
Janelle Rae said she and her husband Brian met Burton 20 years ago in Waihī when she was their midwife.
At her first scan, Rae found out she was having twins, and Burton provided the couple with a lot of excitement and support as a twin herself.
Rae remembered Burton being available around the clock and going above and beyond for them.
“She even came to my house when I was about to go and have my twins … at that stage, we didn’t have any money to put petrol in the car to get to Tauranga Hospital and she put petrol in our car,” she said.
Burton was also the midwife for Emily Haskell when her daughter and son were born in 2008 and 2011 in Paeroa.
“She was an excellent midwife who was fully with you when she was with you and dropped everything the moment you went into labour.”
Haskell said Burton was “a great advocate” for her when she had to be transferred to hospital with her daughter, and would take her 4am calls when her daughter was not feeding.
“She was absolutely a big part of my life for those few years,” she said.
“She was kind, calm and sincere in all that she did as a midwife … She would have touched a lot of people’s lives I am sure.”
Haskell said it was “heartbreaking” to see Burton’s face in the news as a missing person, and said she was waiting and hoping for the good news that she was safe and well.
A Kinloch local, who did not want to be named, told the Rotorua Daily Post on Friday that said searchers gathered at the Kinloch Store on Thursday and a boat was out on the water searching.
Cira Olivier is a social issues and breaking news reporter for NZME Bay of Plenty. She has been a journalist since 2019.
