The disappearance of preschooler Lucas Ward has "ripped at the heart" of the Gisborne community.

Gisborne police were again checking the Waimata River for missing boy Lucas Ward this morning, despite being "99 per cent sure" he wasn't there.

Police looking for Gisborne 4-year-old Lucas Ward have been searching wardrobes in homes near where the youngster disappeared.

Police searching for missing Gisborne boy Lucas Ward have for the first time admitted he may have been the victim of foul play. They also want two kayakers seen at the time of Lucas' disappearance to come forward.

The mother of missing Gisborne boy Lucas Ward believes he may have got lost following a dog and been forced to shelter somewhere.

Jessica and Damon Ward today appealed for people to take five minutes to check all around their properties in case their "curious little boy" had got lost and taken shelter.

A police dive squad is again scouring the Waimata River as the search for missing four-year-old Gisborne boy Lucas Ward enters its third day.

The frantic mother of a Gisborne preschooler was last night clinging to the hope her boy is alive, more than 40 hours after he vanished.

Lucas Ward's family 'just turned around and he wasn't there', police say. Photo / NZPA

A man was shot in the face and 24 arrests made after a violent gang brawl in the Hawke's Bay town of Wairoa this morning.

A man arrested during a major police drugs operation offended from his home and should forfeit it, the Crown says.

James Millton shuns PC pigeonholes in his quest to make the very best biodynamic wine he can, writes Joelle Thomson.

The debate over Moko's final resting place has been settled with the friendly bottlenose dolphin to be buried...

Top sommelier Jean-Marie Pratt brings his global quest for tasty tipples Downunder.

Memorabilia, a plane and even a cat comes with the sale, writes Colin Taylor.

A massive slip that has cut off road access to 18 houses north of Gisborne has been described as "nature at its best".