WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:04.799 Hello friends. Today we're going to be talking about the 2 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:11.199 disturbing and bizarre disappearances on Auckland's West coast beaches. Now, 3 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:14.839 since nineteen ninety two, six people have vanished from the 4 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:18.519 same small corner of Auckland's West coast, one of New 5 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:23.719 Zealand's most famous beaches, Pa Beach. The authorities are convinced 6 00:00:23.719 --> 00:00:27.120 that it's either misadventure or people doing it to themselves. 7 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:30.760 But is this true or is there a darker side 8 00:00:30.839 --> 00:00:34.479 to this iconic stretch of coast. What is causing these 9 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:38.840 bizarre disappearances in this beautiful but isolated part of the world. 10 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:42.759 Experts who have lived in the area for many years 11 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:46.399 and have taken part in countless rescues dismiss claims that 12 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:48.960 the disappearances are linked to heavy surf in the Tasman 13 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:51.920 Sea or people slipping off the well marked trails near 14 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:55.280 the cliffs. A University of Auckland study found that of 15 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:58.679 the two hundred and nineteen drownings across New Zealand between 16 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:02.240 two thousand and eight and two twenty seventeen, fifty eight 17 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:06.000 percent of the bodies were recovered within just twenty four hours, 18 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:08.640 and the majority of those were found at the same location. 19 00:01:09.879 --> 00:01:13.719 Seven percent were found within zero point six miles before 20 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:17.760 they were reported missing, thirteen percent between zero point six 21 00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:21.280 to three point two miles, and nine percent were found 22 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:25.200 more than three point two miles away. Just nine percent 23 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:29.439 were never seen again. Between two thousand and three and 24 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:33.599 twenty twenty, PA lifeguards have made more than one thousand, 25 00:01:33.719 --> 00:01:38.000 five hundred and eighty eight water rescues. There was only 26 00:01:38.040 --> 00:01:42.359 one death during that period where a body was not recovered. Now. 27 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:45.120 Where is PA Beach and what are the legends that 28 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:50.239 surrounded PA? Is New Zealand's most famous surf beach, and 29 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:52.680 it's located on the west coast of the North Island, 30 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:55.879 about forty kilometers from the city of Auckland. It has 31 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:58.760 a reputation for awesome surf which rolls in off the 32 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:03.000 Tasman Sea. Nearby are the highest coastal ridges in New Zealand, 33 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:05.560 at points as high as two hundred and forty meters 34 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:09.439 above the rough sea below. The area does have a 35 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:13.840 strange history. The nearby tracks or trails are guarded by 36 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:18.919 the wooden statue Te ahua O Hinerangi, whose own tragic 37 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:22.240 tale is the stuff of local legend and lore. The 38 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:26.520 husband of Hinerangi, the Maori chiefs beautiful and only daughter, 39 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:29.280 was part of a fishing party on the rocks below 40 00:02:29.479 --> 00:02:33.240 when a large wave engulf liment he was killed. Hinerangi 41 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:35.599 could not be comforted and would sit every day on 42 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:40.039 the point gazing out over the ocean. Now said today, 43 00:02:40.360 --> 00:02:43.199 from a certain position on the cliffs, it's said that 44 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:46.319 you can see a life sized figure sitting there gazing 45 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:50.759 out to sea. Ahua means likeness in Maori, and the 46 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:54.599 legend was Hinerangi was taken and her face imprinted on 47 00:02:54.680 --> 00:02:59.000 the rock. Former way Takiri City Mayor Sir Bob Harvey 48 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:02.960 said the area does indeed have a haunted past. He 49 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:05.719 claims that he's seen the unmistakable face of a Maori 50 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:09.159 woman many times on the cliff while running the track 51 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:13.560 early in the morning light. He further states the whole 52 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:19.080 place is steeped in mystery and legend. First, let's examine 53 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:23.120 the disappearance of Quenton Godwin. In May of nineteen ninety two, 54 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:25.919 Quenton Godman left a note at home indicating he was 55 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:28.439 going to pee how to end his life, but he 56 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:31.039 returned home, reporting to the driver who ferried him from 57 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.520 Pia that he had second thoughts. Five days later, he vanished, 58 00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:39.759 never to be seen again. At just seventeen years old, 59 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:44.240 Quentin had already been diagnosed as manic, depressive or bipolar. However, 60 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:47.639 the time leading up to Quentin's disappearance, he was doing fine, 61 00:03:47.639 --> 00:03:51.840 studying in his seventh form subjects that he enjoyed. On 62 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.919 May twentieth, nineteen ninety two, he told his younger sister 63 00:03:54.960 --> 00:03:56.719 he was going to the village to his after school 64 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:59.479 job at the supermarket. He walked out of the family 65 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:03.400 home and then simply vanished. The next morning, a note 66 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.719 was found in Quinton's bedroom. His mother, Sarah said, I 67 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:09.879 think the note wasn't explicit, but you could just read 68 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.400 it as that type of note or a deeply unhappy note. 69 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:16.399 There was obviously a plea for help. There was a 70 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:21.199 huge amount of confusion and pain. Over the next few years, 71 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:24.160 there would be sightings with Quinton, posters up put up 72 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.279 all over New Zealand, strange phone calls from a woman 73 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:29.759 claiming to be his wife saying they had a baby together, 74 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:34.319 but all these leads came to nothing. In February of 75 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:38.879 twenty fourteen, an end quest concluded Quinton was dead, even 76 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:43.800 though there was no evidence to prove this. Next the 77 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:48.839 disappearance of Irena Asher. At nine thirty pm on Sunday, 78 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:52.920 October tenth, two thousand and four, Julia Woodhouse and her 79 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:56.480 teenage son Henry were driving back into Pihah from Auckland. 80 00:04:57.319 --> 00:04:59.879 As they rounded a bend, they were shocked to see 81 00:04:59.879 --> 00:05:02.800 a young woman on the road wearing nothing but underwear, 82 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:07.240 ugg boots and a sweatshirt. Julie stopped the car and 83 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:10.319 asked the woman if she needed help. The woman's name 84 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:14.319 Arena Asher, a twenty five year old trainee teacher and 85 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:18.600 part time model. Arena Asher was bipolar and was under 86 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:22.360 the effects of alcohol and drugs that night. The police 87 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:25.160 investigation that came later claimed that her behavior had become 88 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:29.759 increasingly erratic over the previous days, and her family disagreed, 89 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:31.720 as both her father and sister had seen her just 90 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:35.120 the day before she disappeared, but it seems likely she 91 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.319 was in the grip of a manic episode. She had 92 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:41.279 admitted to both missing doses and doubling up on her 93 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:44.839 mood stabilizing lithium pills in the month fire, and a 94 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:48.120 long term relationship had ended badly only a week before 95 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:52.360 police claimed stress could have cost her to relapse into 96 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:57.800 this strange behavior. On October ten, Arena had gone to 97 00:05:57.839 --> 00:06:00.560 a house at peaht with her new boyfriend and another couple. 98 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:03.480 They later testified that she went down to the beach 99 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:07.839 alone at some point and returned soaked in cold. She 100 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:10.120 refused to change the clothes, however, and chose to go 101 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:14.120 naked beneath the duvet. Her boyfriend later left without her 102 00:06:14.199 --> 00:06:18.199 at her request. Several other people came and went from 103 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:21.240 the house, and at around nine pm, Arena Asher called 104 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.120 the police, claiming she had been drugged and was being 105 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:28.000 pressured into having sex against her will. The police called 106 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:31.560 her a taxi, which never turned up. She left the 107 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:38.399 house alone wearing just her underwear, boots and sweatshirt. Juliet 108 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:41.360 took Irena to the Black Sands Lodge on Beach Valley Road, 109 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:45.519 which she ran with her partner, Bobby Carroll. Arena took 110 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:47.519 a shower and they offered her a bed for the night, 111 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:52.480 but she remained suspicious of the couple and declined. Now. 112 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.160 They didn't call the police, but Carol thought she might 113 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:59.000 be coming down off recreational drugs. At least one person 114 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.600 in the house she'd left had already taken ecstasy the 115 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:06.199 previous night. Asher called her ex boyfriend's mother instead of 116 00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:09.000 the police, then watched television with Henry and said she 117 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:11.399 decides she would stay the night and would sleep in 118 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:14.240 the lounge with French doors that opened onto the garden 119 00:07:14.279 --> 00:07:18.120 and the road leading to the Tasman Lookout. Just after 120 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:21.560 one Bobby and Julia went to sleep, and then Irena 121 00:07:21.720 --> 00:07:25.240 left through the lodge through the French door. Carol gave 122 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:28.480 chase but found only the dressing gown, which she had 123 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:32.439 given to help keep her warm. Around one thirty am, 124 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:35.079 Irena was seen naked beneath the street light near the 125 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:37.399 pia Hoa store by a couple out walking their dog. 126 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:42.199 It was bitterly cold, windy, and stormy, so the dog 127 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:47.639 walkers were shocked but did nothing. They watched Irena as 128 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.720 she bizarrely began to talk to a street light and 129 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.519 kneeled and kissed the ground before it, and then she 130 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:57.920 walked toward the beach arena, then disappeared into the darkness, 131 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:01.439 never to be seen again. Bobby had returned to the 132 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:03.879 lodge and called the police, but the search didn't even 133 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:07.600 begin until four am. It was presumed that she had 134 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:10.439 just simply walked out into the ocean, but the surf 135 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:14.560 and sea conditions were huge. The waves were four to 136 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:19.519 five meters high, and the water was bitterly cold. So 137 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:23.480 what happened to Arena Asher? It would have to be 138 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.759 very difficult by Arena to voluntarily enter the water, as 139 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:30.120 the shore break was significant that night, should have been 140 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:33.559 thrown back onto the beach by the crashing waves. The 141 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:37.240 searches along the shoreline and a rescue helicopter found nothing 142 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:39.279 on the beach nor in the headlands to the north, 143 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:42.480 where bodies would drift in the current when the surf 144 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:45.200 had dropped during the search, a body would be easy 145 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:48.759 to spot in the water. Searchers climbed to a cathedral 146 00:08:48.759 --> 00:08:51.120 cave and explored the coves all the way to Bethel's 147 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.759 The search was called off after five days with no 148 00:08:54.840 --> 00:08:59.480 sign of Arena. Veteran surf life saver Duncan Clark has 149 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:02.720 patrolled the coast for more than thirty years and dragged 150 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:05.679 many unfortunate bodies out of the water in the area, 151 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:09.279 including those that have been partially decomposed. Scratched her Maine 152 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:14.240 from the rocks partially divided by sharks or the marine life. 153 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.919 Clark recalls the days and weeks that followed I Rena's 154 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:20.720 disappearance as miserable and explains how the conditions that night 155 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:25.360 simply did not lend themselves to her being swept away. 156 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:29.039 He says, the conditions that night were atrocious on shore, 157 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:32.759 twenty nine winds, possibly some of the worst conditions you 158 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:35.919 could have out here, at least three to four meter 159 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:40.519 swells all breaking right on the shore, southwest winds, and 160 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:45.200 it was cold, bitterly cold in my experience. Immediately, I 161 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:47.159 felt it was more likely that if someone had gone 162 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:49.240 in the water and drowned, they would have been swept 163 00:09:49.240 --> 00:09:53.360 back up onto the shore. I was expecting her to 164 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:57.200 be found coastal in the wider Pia High area. Absolutely, 165 00:09:58.039 --> 00:10:00.279 it's not uncommon for a body to go under for 166 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:02.840 three to seven days until the gases start to build 167 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:06.679 up through decomposition, and then they'll float up again. Closer 168 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:10.519 to Bethel's speech, I personally don't know what happened to her, 169 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:12.559 but I can only hope that we did our job 170 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:14.320 to the best of our ability with the search and 171 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:17.799 rescue that night, and that ultimately she didn't go on 172 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:21.000 the water that day. If she had gone in the water, 173 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:26.000 I'm sure we would have found her. Corner. Peter Ryan 174 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:28.960 ruled that while I ran unquote, had a lot to 175 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:32.519 live for quote, there was a strong probability that she 176 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:35.559 went into the sea in the early hours of October eleventh, 177 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:40.720 two thousand and four, and subsequently drowned. Senior and Sergeant 178 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:43.080 Mark Fergus, who led the five day search for the 179 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:46.919 young lady, agreed with the findings of the corner, arguing 180 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:49.000 her body would probably have been found if it was 181 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:53.799 in the bush and that foul play was unlikely. Next 182 00:10:53.879 --> 00:10:59.480 up the disappearance of Sherry Wousden, Forty two year old. 183 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:02.559 Sherry was a mother to a young daughter, and she 184 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:05.559 often walked around the Mercer Bay Loop and knew it 185 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:09.399 well now. The loop takes about twenty minutes to complete, 186 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.759 and her brother, Darren Roberts says she loved the sunsets 187 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:16.840 out there. She would come back home with daisies she'd 188 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:21.080 picked from log Grace Road. Her sister in law, Rachel Fausten, 189 00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:25.120 said it was Sheeri's thinking spot. She went there regularly, 190 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:29.600 but on the evening of Saturday, December twentieth, twenty twelve, 191 00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:32.720 Sherry drove down log Grace Road and parked her car 192 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:36.720 near to where the loop track begins. A couple said 193 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:39.480 that they saw her around seven to fifteen PM as 194 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:42.120 she walked south down the track with a bottle of 195 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:45.879 wine in hand, perhaps to watch the sunset. Her car 196 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:49.320 was found unlocked, with the windows down and empty a 197 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:53.519 few hours later. The police made an intensive search for 198 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:56.639 Sherry by land, sea and air in good weather over 199 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:00.360 the falling days. They believed she had fallen from the 200 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:04.919 cliffs and into the water. Inflatable rescue boats or IRBs 201 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:07.039 from the local surf clubs were used to search the 202 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:11.559 coast from North Piha to kyri Kari. The Westpac Rescue 203 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:15.799 helicopter joined them later, but the search found absolutely nothing 204 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:20.519 and wound down after a few days. Friends and family 205 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:23.799 then continued the search, but they also came up empty handed. 206 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:28.919 It was as if Sherry had just vanished one odd thing. 207 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:32.679 The passenger seat visor in her car was left down, 208 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:36.559 and the vanity mirror had swipe marks on it, indicating 209 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:40.639 it had been recently cleaned. The corner came to the 210 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:46.000 conclusion that Bouston and the presumed semi intoxicated state hopped 211 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:49.600 the barricade, walked to the cliff's edge and accidentally fell 212 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:51.960 off the Mercer cliffs to her death in the sea below. 213 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:55.759 No evidence was found to indicate foul play or the 214 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:59.320 involvement of any other person. A broken bottle of wine 215 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:01.799 was the only of interest found in the search, but 216 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:05.120 it couldnot be definitively linked to Sherry or the bottle 217 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:09.960 she was carrying earlier. The corner said, all the circumstances 218 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:12.840 unfortunately pointed to her falling and being swept away from 219 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:16.720 the sea, but that's a conclusion rejected by the families. 220 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:22.399 Rachel Faustan said, once as a tragic accident, but when 221 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:25.840 you have this many missing people who not only all 222 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:28.440 look about the same but have all disappeared in the 223 00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:34.399 same area without a trace, no way. Next the disappearance 224 00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:38.320 of Kim Bambas. Kim Bambas was a twenty one year 225 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:42.480 old nurse at Middlemore Hospital. Originally from the Bay of Islands, 226 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:45.679 she had lived in Auckland for four years. Her sister 227 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:49.240 Storm Bambas said Kim was a tiny little thing in 228 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:52.240 the life of the party, as well as very independent. 229 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:58.240 Like Sherry, Kim Bambas regularly ran the Mercer Bay Loop. However, 230 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:00.600 on the morning of Friday, March the t twenty fourth, 231 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:04.120 twenty thirteen, Kim left her upon Sumby flat and went 232 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:09.399 shopping at a countdown on Williamson Avenue, buying some snacks Supermarket. 233 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:13.759 CCTV footage confirms this last known sighting over She had 234 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:15.679 told her flatmates that she was going for a run 235 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:19.320 at Pia. When she didn't return that evening, they drove 236 00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:21.200 the route from the city to the beach to try 237 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:24.879 and find her. They reported her missing around eight pm 238 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:28.879 that evening. Her bright yellow Highundai gets was found five 239 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:32.039 hours later in the log Grace Road car park, close 240 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.039 to the start of the loop track, just where Sherry's 241 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:38.559 car had been found. Kim's mobile phone was still inside 242 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:42.919 the car. Police immediately started a search in the area 243 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:46.399 around log Grace Road and down the Ahuahu Track with 244 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:51.080 ground teams and helicopters. Over forty police and land search 245 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:54.399 and rescue personnel were soon committed to the operation, which 246 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:58.679 was hampered by low clouds and rain. Several climbers even 247 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:03.360 searched the cliff face. The coast was thoroughly searched using 248 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:07.399 police helicopter, and lifeguards did the same on inflatable boats 249 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:11.600 on the sea. By Sunday, March twenty sixth, there were 250 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:15.679 drones deployed in the area, but nothing still to be found. 251 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:19.080 Short line searches with it organized with the locals at Karrie, 252 00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:21.960 Cary and Piha, but there was no sign of the 253 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.519 runner Kim, and just like Sherry, she seems to have 254 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:30.279 simply vanished into thin air. Rachel Boustan, Sherry's sister in law, 255 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:33.879 said after Kim's disappearance, I've been out there every year 256 00:15:34.440 --> 00:15:37.360 and it's the same as it always was. You follow 257 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:40.159 the track, it's very hard to go off the track. 258 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:44.240 It's very dense bush she reckoned. Something didn't add up 259 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:48.840 about the disappearance. If they're falling into the ocean, she said, 260 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:52.840 the two missing women, Why is nothing floating up? Why 261 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:58.080 does nothing ever show up next? The disappearance of Lawrence 262 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:04.080 woe Wu twenty two, also known as Lawrence, was last 263 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:07.159 seen at about one forty pm on March tenth at 264 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:10.639 Saint Luke's Liquor Center in Auckland before his car was 265 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:14.200 found in the Pihi area. His phone was also last 266 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:19.240 pained there. He was reported missing on March twelfth, twenty nineteen. 267 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:22.799 But almost a year later police called off the search. 268 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:28.039 Auckland City Police Sergeant Tanya and Kingi said despite the 269 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:32.200 extensive efforts, no information led to Lawrence being found and 270 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:36.600 all lines of inquiry had been exhausted. She says the 271 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:40.799 police staff involved in this investigation wanted nothing more than 272 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:42.960 to be able to provide the answers that the family 273 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:45.600 so desperately seeks at a time like this, and it 274 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:48.080 is unfortunate that we have not been able to achieve 275 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:53.399 this despite our best efforts. Kingki said multiple searches were 276 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:57.480 carried out across Pihi in the water Carry area. Police 277 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:00.600 also examined the contents of his vehicle which was found 278 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:05.119 at Pihaw Beach, which included his laptop. The matter was 279 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.880 not being treated as suspicious and there was no evidence 280 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:11.640 of foul play. Yet no trace of Lawrence has ever 281 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:19.359 been found. Next up the disappearance of Iloi Roland. On 282 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:24.079 March seventh, twenty twenty, French teenager Eloi Roland went missing 283 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:27.440 near Piha Beach. Cell Phone data placed him in the 284 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.759 vicinity of pi Road and Scenic Drive at nine eighteen 285 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:35.279 am on the morning of his disappearance March seventh, After 286 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:38.880 an exhaustive land search spanning more than sixteen hundred hours. 287 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:43.160 Police suspended the physical search for Eloi in May pending 288 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:47.119 new information. A teenager's T shirt was found in the 289 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:49.759 Kari Karrie Bush, but it was not clear if it 290 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:54.680 belonged to Eloi or not. Detective Senior Sergeant Callum McNeil 291 00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:58.119 said there'd been no significant updates, but police continue to 292 00:17:58.119 --> 00:18:02.960 be in regular contact with Eloi family in France. His parents, 293 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:06.440 Terry and Catherine, said they have not given up hope. 294 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:08.680 It will be very difficult this year as we are 295 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:11.279 a very close family and not being able to say 296 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:13.799 our son physically is going to be hard on all 297 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:17.960 of us, they said in a statement. So what happened 298 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:22.599 near pm each The Mercer Bay Track doesn't run along 299 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:26.440 the very cliff edge. It's well graded and not technically 300 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:30.519 difficult hiking, with a few places where someone might actually fall. 301 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:34.519 A few dangerous points are fenced off to prevent such accidents. 302 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:38.319 In addition, the cliffs may seem steep and vertical when 303 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:41.240 you're standing on top of them, but they mostly arc 304 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:45.200 out seaward, usually many meters, and they are studied with 305 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:50.160 ledges and sharp outcrops of rock. This point is made 306 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:54.440 by the death of Fiona Hamilton on Sunday, September third, 307 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:57.519 two thousand and six. Fiona Hamilton, a forty three year 308 00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:00.720 old Australian woman, lost their footing above Mercer Bay and 309 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:03.799 fell down the cliff face. Jill had to ask her 310 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:06.680 husband to take a photo over she walked off the 311 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:10.880 trail and unfortunately stepped back too far. She fell over 312 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:13.359 one hundred and fifty meters down the cliff face and 313 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:17.440 onto a ledge fifty meters from the sea. She died instantly, 314 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:19.680 but her body was held with the cliffs and was 315 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:23.640 quickly found, where the Auckland Line rescue team made the 316 00:19:23.640 --> 00:19:26.599 difficult recovery of her body. The climbers had to frequently 317 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:29.319 stop to place protection on their ropes where they rubbed 318 00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:33.000 against the sharp rocks. Now experts say it takes six 319 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:36.359 or seven seconds for human body to fall two hundred meters, 320 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:39.119 by which time it's traveling at more than one hundred 321 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:41.839 and twenty five miles an hour or two hundred kilometers 322 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:44.799 per hour, and so a person falling off the cliff 323 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:48.079 would almost certainly leave traces of blood, body parts or 324 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:51.079 clothing on the cliff face. On the way down. So 325 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:54.359 even if sherry Vousmen and kim Bambas fell cleared the 326 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:57.880 cliffs somehow at a certain spot into the water, it's 327 00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:01.200 likely their bodies would be found as they began to 328 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:05.640 float after decomposition set in. Victims of drownings at pr 329 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:08.440 are usually found within a few days up the coast 330 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:11.720 at Moriwai. If the bodies are not found in the sea, 331 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:15.480 they generally turn up in the bush. The bush also 332 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:19.839 often gives up its dead eventually. An archaeologist once picked 333 00:20:19.880 --> 00:20:22.200 up an unusual looking rock as he walked down the 334 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:26.160 Ahuahu Track part of the Mercer Bay Loop, and then 335 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:29.880 realized it was a human skull, discolored and covered with moss. 336 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:33.839 A quick search above the grizzly find revealed the remains 337 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:37.119 of an amateur botanist who had vanished seven years earlier 338 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:41.960 on a fern gathering expedition. Sir Bob Harvey, himself a 339 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:44.720 surf lifesaver for more than sixty four years along the 340 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:47.599 West Coast, said he believes there's no way these people 341 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:49.640 could make it to the bottom of the cliffs without 342 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:53.359 leaving a single trace on the cliff face. Harvey has 343 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:57.480 pulled many bodies from the sea in the area. He says, 344 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:00.759 it never made sense to me the notion that she 345 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:04.480 would or even could wade out into the surf. So 346 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:08.960 then whereas Irena Asher. It's a mystery. But I don't 347 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:13.119 believe in people vanishing without a trace. It's never pleasant, 348 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:16.759 especially after a few days or weeks, but bodies do 349 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:22.079 turn up. We find something always, except for these cases. 350 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:26.960 I've researched this, and I've thought hard on this, and 351 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:30.359 I believe these women, these young men, and indeed Asher 352 00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:35.079 were abducted. I believe Asher to be separate, possibly struck 353 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:39.640 by a vehicle, even accidentally, and then disposed of. Just 354 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:44.359 not at Piha, but in our other cases they're linked. 355 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:48.400 I absolutely believe that if someone goes into the water 356 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:52.480 at Piha or Mercer Bay and drowns, the overwhelming odds 357 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:54.960 point to them being found at one of three locations, 358 00:21:55.880 --> 00:21:59.880 the northernmost end of pih Bethel's Beach or the Kaipar 359 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:05.480 Harbor within three to ten days. He concludes. Now, as 360 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:08.519 with all small communities, at Piha, there is a dark 361 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:13.640 sighte It has had notorious drug problems, for example, but 362 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:16.279 the women and men in the cases highlighted all had 363 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:21.119 a lot to live for, including having children. Sherry and 364 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:24.160 Kim knew the Mercer Bay Loop well and were unlikely 365 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:27.559 to slip and followed by carelessness. They were surrounded by 366 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:31.559 family and friends, and these people all considered their disappearances 367 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:35.880 and every single one of these disappearances didn't seem to 368 00:22:35.960 --> 00:22:40.599 make sense. Well, there you have it, folks, what do 369 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:44.640 you think of these mysterious disappearances in Auckland, New Zealand. 370 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.480 I look forward to reading your comments. If you like 371 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:51.599 more information, please check the sources in the notes below. 372 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:55.279 If you live in the area or otherwise have any 373 00:22:55.359 --> 00:23:00.000 information regarding any of these disappearances, please contact the local authority. 374 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:03.920 Each one of these people had family and loved ones 375 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:07.880 who would love to have some closure, and in the meanwhile, 376 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:11.759 take care of yourselves and each other. I'm Steve Stockton 377 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:13.640 and I'll talk to you next time.