Family has questions 12 months after man goes missing in the Coromandel

Jordan van Deursen has not been seen since October 29, 2023.

It’s been 12 months since Jordan van Deursen went missing in the Coromandel bush and his family still have questions over the man’s disappearance.

Jordan, 29, failed to return from a hike in the Wentworth Valley area with his terrier Bahgo on October 29, 2023 and the official search was suspended after 10 days.

On October 30, his vehicle, a silver Toyota, was found near the Wentworth Valley campground at the start of a track leading to Wentworth Valley Falls by a campground employee who reported it to police.

In January, the mystery of what happened to the Waihi man and his dog, took an unusual twist, with the dog, a terrier named Bagho, being found.

Police confirmed on January 3 that Bahgo had turned up at a rural address near a track entrance linked to where van Deursen was last known to be, but there was still no sign of the 29-year-old.

Now, police have said the matter has been referred to the coroner, and to date there has been no new information received.

A police spokesperson said it is standard practice for the coroner to be informed in the case of a long-term missing person, once all police investigations and searches have concluded or are nearing conclusion.

“In this instance, police turned over information to the coroner in July 2024; it is then over to the coroner to determine if and when they may take the matter further.”

A family spokesperson said there are unanswered questions over his disappearance.

That related to a vehicle captured on CCTV footage at the camp office, leaving at 2.39pm on the day of van Deursen’s disappearance.

“As it came in prior to 12.30pm, it most certain that the person(s) was up the track and could have seen Jordan.”

“Also on the Tuesday, November 7, one day after the search was called off, it was reported to the police by the camp manager that a man on the track spoke to a camper and told him he had ridden out on his bike the day Jordan went missing and he in fact spoke to Jordan while he was up the track.

“As he said he had cycled out, he was there on the Sunday and again the next Tuesday, one assumes he is either from the area or is perhaps a regular visitor to the area; I would very much like to track this person down.

“Both these people have the potential to give us a starting point, which would be incredibly helpful considering the vastness of the valley; if we had an area to focus on we may have more success in finding Jordan.”

Jordan and his dog Bagho.

Hauraki-Coromandel Post spoke with lawyer and podcaster Ryan Wolf who has been working alongside van Deursen’s family.

Wolf went public with pleas for information last month on behalf of the family.

He said a number of cars accessed the Wentworth Campground around the time of the disappearance and had been identified.

“But to our knowledge, the owner of this white Toyota has not been located; I’m seeking your help to find the owner so we can check if they saw Jordan on the track that afternoon.

“Every little piece of information can be crucial in piecing together what happened to Jordan.”

Hauraki-Coromandel Post reached out to police multiple times with questions, asking where police were up to in the investigation, if there have been any updates/progress/developments, if police wished to add any comment at this stage, if police were still investigating, if there had been any sightings, if police had been in contact with the family and if there had been any clues.

Police had nothing to add to their statement.

The family are interested in talking to the owner of this vehicle.

The family spokesperson said it had been a frustrating experience.

“To date no clue has ever been found, this could be due in part that it was three days later on the Wednesday before it was realised that Jordan was missing and during that time the weather was atrocious.

“Until these questions are answered I do not see that the investigation into Jordan’s disappearance has been completed, finding these people has the potential to give us more clues to go on.

“I’m not asking for the police to go back into the valley and search, I just want to find these people if we can.”

The family spokesperson said van Deursen had just had lunch in Whangamatā with his mother on October 29, and as he left, he purchased two of his favourite biscuits from the cafe and said to his mother he was going to take Bagho for a walk in Wentworth Valley, and that he would see her in a few days’ time at home in Waihi.

“He was not dressed for a hike, he in fact had relatively light clothing on considering the weather; he’d left the two biscuits in the car and a half-eaten pie that was presumably for Bagho so for all intents and purposes, he was returning to the car.

“Bagho came out nine weeks later on December 29 over the other side on Wires Rd; sadly this seemed to bring more questions than answers.”