Friendly island paradise also has its dark secrets

Great Barrier Island. Photo / NZHerald

If it's a restorative weekend away from the city you're after, you can't fault Great Barrier Island.

The fishing, diving and hiking are sublime and locals are universally friendly. Several I spoke to felt no need to lock doors at night.

But even this paradise has a few dark secrets.

Among unsolved police inquiries are the disappearance in 1997 of American woman Nancy Frey-Hershey, who went missing from her home in Schooner Bay, and the death of reclusive Claris resident Colin Goode, whose body was found in his home in 1999.

Officially Ms Frey-Hershey died on or about September 25, 1997, on Great Barrier "from unascertained causes", so her police file remains open.

Her absence was reported to police on September 26, though inquiries showed she'd missed appointments the previous day.

The local constable and volunteer searchers found clothing part-way down a steep cliff, about 350m from her Schooner Bay home.

Colin Michael Goode, 51, was found on June 30, 1999, in his isolated home near Claris.

His right hand was missing and police treated his death as a homicide.

Mr Goode, a former gardener with Auckland City Council parks and a known cannabis grower, was last seen in April that year. He had little contact with the outside world.

Great Barrier police officers Senior Constables Roger Bright and Kylie Robbins would welcome further information.