Missing Waihī father Samuel McAlister feared drowned after fishing trip on Firth of Thames

The mother of a man who went missing while kayak fishing fears her son has drowned. She has had to break the news to his young children.

Samuel McAlister could light up the room with his presence and loved his family dearly, his heartbroken mum Haidee Ainsley told the Herald.

“He was just a beautiful boy with a really big heart. He lit up the room just being there and he loved to dance and sing; he loved his music,” she said.

“He loved to make people laugh.”

McAlister was a father to Rhythm, 7, Kahu, 4, and Amiyah, 1. He turned 25 the day before he went missing.

On Sunday the Waihī man went fishing on the rocks and then celebrated his birthday at home with family. The next day he went kayak fishing on the Firth of Thames with a close friend.

They got into trouble when the sea became rough and McAlister lost his paddle.

The friend returned to shore to get help and managed to find someone with a boat.

Ainsley said the friend was distraught.

Samuel Mcalister turned 25 the day before he went missing on a fishing trip on the Firth of Thames. Photo / Haidee Ainsley

“They both got into trouble in the water and his friend tried to tow him back in with his kayak but the current got too strong,” she said.

“They actually tied Samuel to a mussel buoy and his friend came back to shore to get help and he found someone who had a boat.

“By the time they got back out there, Samuel and his kayak were missing.”

What happened to McAlister from the time his friend left to get help and when he returned is not certain.

“Whether he got impatient and tried to swim ashore, we just don’t know,” Ainsley said.

“He would have been wet and cold and tired so we are not sure.”

McAlister remains missing despite a police search and rescue staff, Coastguard, LandSar, and several volunteer teams searching the Thames Coast from Tapu to Wilsons Bay using drones and helicopters.

On Tuesday morning his kayak and lifejacket were found washed up on the shore near Tapu, giving fleeting hope he had made it to land.

That hope has now gone, Ainsley said.

She said the efforts of search and rescue teams had “been amazing, we are so grateful to everyone who has helped look for him”.

McAlister’s three brothers and sister were supporting each other and their mum.

“I have five children and we are all supporting each other. Samuel was my second oldest boy and he had such a special place in my heart.”

Missing man Samuel Mcalister (second from left) is one of five siblings.

McAlister’s sister Nikita had come to stay and to help support his sons.

“His boys Rhythm and Kahu are living with me at the moment and they realise their daddy is missing and most likely drowned,” Ainsley said.

“I had to have the talk with them this morning. They are kids so it is going to take a bit of time to sink in.”

Ainsley dearly wanted the sea to return her boy’s body to her and his waiting family.

“We are trying to co-ordinate a bigger search party with friends and family and we have people out there right now looking for him,” she said.

“Our hearts are broken but our hope is to find him and bring him home.”