Where is Te Anihana?
The mother of a young woman who went missing more than two weeks ago has made a plea for her daughter to come home.
Te Anihana Pomana, 25, was last seen leaving Sky City on 21 August around 5.06am, leaving all her belongings at the hotel. CCTV footage showed her last known movements.
She was dressed in all white and Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend said she appeared to be "confused" before she disappeared.
Her mother, Catherine Anderson, joined Friend at the Auckland Central Police Base on Friday morning to talk to media and bring more attention to the case.
Anderson said she had travelled to Auckland from Dunedin to help search for her daughter who was last seen in a "dishevelled state" in central Auckland.
"Te Anihana is a much loved daughter, auntie, sister, friend and mokopuna," she said, "as a mother I'm appealing to anyone who has seen her to come forward.
"Te Anihana, if you see this we all love you and miss you and want to know you're okay."
Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend said there was nothing to suggest foul play but the length of time Pomana had been missing and the fact she left all her possessions was worrying.
"We just do not know what's happened to her."
Friend said with such vast networks of CCTV in Auckland city it was surprising Pomana had not been seen on CCTV after leaving Sky City hotel.
Flyers were also being distributed to local businesses.
'Linking up with her heritage'
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Friend said Pomana had been travelling the country before she disappeared and it was believed she was trying to learn more about her heritage, including contacting maraes in Northland.
However, he said there were no recent sighting of her in the Far North.
Police had been in touch with maraes in that area, Friend said.
The last time Pomana was seen was when she was walking down Victoria St West in Auckland's CBD, Friend said, but it was believed on August 20, the day before she disappeared she had taken the WX1 bus to Henderson.
"She got off and caught another one instantly to the city," Friend said. "We are reaching out to anyone who was on that bus to get in touch with us."
He said police were in the process of getting footage from that bus.
Pomana did have whānau in Henderson and West Auckland, Friend said, although most of her whānau lived in the South Island.
"There are people she does know in Auckland, we're trying to establish where she might be.
"She's travelled quite extensively - flew down to Dunedin and stayed briefly with her mother, then travelled to Christchurch with her father, then sought treatment at Middlemore Hospital [in Auckland] for an existing injury, then stayed at multiple hostels and bedsits in Auckland and Sky City Hotel on August 18."
Friend said Pomana was "very resourceful" but police and her loved ones just did not know where she was.
"Our aim is to find her and bring her home to her family."
Te Anihana Pomana's mum Catherine Anderson, with a family member and Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend putting up fliers in Auckland.Te Anihana Pomana's mum Catherine Anderson, with a family member and
Pomana is of thin build, around 154cm tall, with curly black hair and tattoos.
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Pomana's last known movements
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Early August - Pomana travelled from Dunedin to Christchurch with her father.
August 2 - She arrived in Auckland and was treated at Middlemore Hospital for existing injuries. She was later discharged.
It's believed she moved between multiple hostels, hotels, and bedsits in early August.
August 18 - Pomana checked into SkyCity Hotel in Central Auckland, at 11.11pm.
August 20 - She was seen on CCTV boarding WX1 bus from Hobson St at 6.37pm. Police believed she travelled to Lincoln Rd in Henderson then returned to city.
August 21 - There was a confirmed sighting on CCTV of Pomana leaving Sky City at 5:06am, where she left all of her belongings behind.
The last confirmed sighting was on Victoria St West that day at 5.16am.
August 29 - Police released CCTV of Te her last known movements.
September 5 - Pomana's mother and police issue an appeal for information about her location.
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Christmas gifts stolen from parked car prompts warning over holiday break-ins
An Auckland man whose Christmas presents were stolen from his car on a quiet street is warning others not to repeat his mistake.
Police and the AA say opportunistic thieves are breaking into cars more frequently during the Christmas period.
Jeremy Rees, an RNZ staff member in Auckland, had packed his car full of gifts when he decided to visit a friend.
“Everyone had handed over presents and we had a couple of bags full of presents sitting in the back of the car,” he said.
“I decided it would be great to go around and see a friend, drop off some presents and say hello. My wife said to me, ‘Are you sure we should be taking this car?’ I said, ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine’.
“I think it was only 20 minutes outside their house, a very quiet street. It was light [outside]. We came out and my wife pointed out that someone had smashed the rear window, reached in and grabbed the presents, and headed away.
“It was a shock. It was a shock partly because of the Christmas presents and partly because my wife had been telling me, ‘Don’t do that’.”
AA Insurance head of motor claims Beau Paparoa said roadside staff were responding to smashed windows more often.
“We definitely see car break-ins starting to occur a lot more around this time of year. We’re often hearing from customers and some of our roadside teams that there’s definitely a bit more opportunistic theft happening,” he said.
“We’re putting that down to it being a busy time of year. Everyone’s out doing their Christmas shopping and there’s much more presence of gifts and valuables being visible in the car.”
He encouraged people to be careful and make sure valuables were hidden from view.
“In terms of any valuables, if you’ve done some Christmas shopping, or if generally you’ve got valuables in your car, try [to] keep them locked away or out of sight – in your boot if you can,” he said.
“Where you’re parking is possibly a good thing to think about. If you can afford to, don’t park on the street, but if you have to park on-street, make sure you park in well-lit areas.”
Police said it was not uncommon for Christmas presents to be stolen.
“The key is to remove any opportunity. This includes taking valuables or documents out of vehicles wherever possible,” a spokesperson said.
Rees said he wished he had followed that advice.
“I feel a bit stupid, to be absolutely honest. I read all of the things from police saying ‘don’t do this, don’t pack your car, don’t just leave it on the street’, and I did exactly the opposite and I paid the price.”
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Auckland Harbour Bridge summer works
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is carrying out essential maintenance on the Auckland Harbour Bridge this December and January. The southbound clip-on lanes will be closed (24/7) from 26 December to 5 January for road resurfacing. Night-time lane restrictions will be in place throughout the summer for recoating work on the bridge. Traffic will still be able to travel in both directions at all times.
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