As police pull out of the search for 4-year-old Lucas Ward, the head of the investigation has admitted the Gisborne boy may never be found, but his family are not giving up.

The grandfather of missing Gisborne toddler Lucas Ward says the family hasn't given up hope and will keep on searching.

As the search for Gisborne pre-schooler Lucas Ward enters its sixth day, police have no plans to scale down their search.

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 body of murdered Aucklander Carmen Thomas is believed to have been dumped in bush southeast of Auckland.

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.

The police dive squad is searching a Gisborne river close to the home where a four-year-old boy disappeared yesterday.

The police hunt for the killer of Carmen Thomas today moved to rural southeast Auckland, after a newly reported sighting of her car around the time she went missing.

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

Police investigating the death of Carmen Thomas will tomorrow concentrate on a rural area 30km southeast of central Auckland.

The 69-year-old pig hunter who went missing last night near Wanganui has been found safe and well.

Police dive squad members continue to search for a Northland man presumed drowned after he tried to row across a bay in rough weather.

Police investigating the murder of Carmen Thomas say a missing recycling bin from her home could be a vital clue in the search for her body.

Family and friends desperate for news of missing woman Carmen Thomas are grappling with evidence of murder.

Police are hunting for a killer after admitting for the first time last night they believe missing escort Carmen Thomas is dead.

A premonition about missing Aussie youngster Kiesha Abrahams leads a psychic to a dead woman's torso wrapped in plastic at a reserve in Sydney's west.