Bay man shocked to learn of his death

Yesterday, Alex ``Sandy'' Davie was reported to be murdered. Today, the former All White was enjoying the sunshine at his Cambridge Heights home, and answering dozens of phone calls and text messages, assuring friends he is in fact alive and well.
Mr Davie was playing golf in Tauranga yesterday when the club secretary raced on to the course to tell him he had just been reported killed in a factory on the Gold Coast.
It turned out the local office of television broadcaster Channel 10 had identified the wrong Alexander Davie.
Channel 10's news staff contacted TVNZ to ask for footage of the former national goalkeeper. TVNZ responded by running its own story on the midday news bulletin reporting that Mr Davie had been murdered.
The story was quickly reported on news websites.
Meanwhile, a friend frantically phoned Mr Davie's wife, Sue, to check on him. Mrs Davie then phoned the golf club in a panic.
Mr Davie said he initially thought it was some kind of joke.
``I thought'this isn't true'. It's not April 1st is it?
``I expected to see Candid Camera ... It was crazy,'' he said.
More disturbing was the list of ways and places Mr Davie had reportedly been killed.
``I heard I'd been found in a warehouse, naked and stabbed in a public toilet, tied up, strangled, found in a burnt-out car, beaten to death. Well which one was it?''
People he had not heard from in years suddenly wanted to know what had happened.
It was all a little overwhelming, he said.
On returning from the golf course and unloading his clubs, Mr Davie saw his neighbour, who was looking out the window while talking on the phone to someone telling him that Mr Davie was dead.
``He said,'no, I'm looking at him right now'.''
The surreal situation was today still sinking in but Mr Davie said he was determined to discover how the mistake happened and was planning to ring Channel 10 and TVNZ.
The news had caused distress to his family and he worried perceptions could be formed about what he had ``been up to'' unless adequate corrections were made in both Australia and New Zealand.
While it was a coincidence that he and his wife had lived in the Gold Coast, where his ``body'' was found, most of the other details didn't match up.
The man who was killed worked as a security guard and owned his own business. He was three years younger than Mr Davie and spelt Sandy differently.
A woman also found dead at the scene had a different name and was 50, while Mrs Davie is 63.
``How do they put two and two together and come up with 10? . . . It amazes me,'' Mr Davie said.
Friend George Grant said his daughter broke the news to him after hearing it on television.
He immediately called TVNZ to find out more but could not get a straight answer.
``For the best part of an hour I did feel they were gone,'' he said.
He felt ``perturbed'' when TVNZ confirmed the mistake.
``They were so flippant in the first place. They said'apologies for any alarm'. Well, that doesn't really cut it.''
A TVNZ spokeswoman said the network was investigating and offered its ``sincere and unreserved apology to Mr Davie and his family for the shock and distress they have suffered''.