Disappointment as beach dig reveals no sign of missing Gisborne man Joseph Ahuriri

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

The family of missing Gisborne man Joseph Ahuriri and police were left “disappointed” and still searching for clues as to his whereabouts after an unsuccessful beach dig near Napier this week.

Two diggers were put to work near the Esk River mouth on Monday and yesterday to search for any sign of Mr Ahuriri or his white Toyota Hilux.

The father of eight disappeared at the height of Cyclone Gabrielle last February but neither he nor his ute have been found.

Mr Ahuriri was attempting to head home to Gisborne from Napier. He was last seen on CCTV at the Waitomo fuel stop in Bay View on February 14.

Detective Sergeant Alex Simister said a magnometer drone survey was conducted last year and a “metal-like object of interest around five metres below the surface” had since been spotted in those survey results.

“Police and specialist search teams used an excavator to move around 2000 cubic metres of sand,” he said of this week’s search.

“Unfortunately, we have not been able to locate Joseph or any items of interest in relation to his disappearance.”

His family were at the beach site yesterday, hopeful the latest search would provide some closure.

A cordon was set up at the scene. Yesterday police assisted Ahuriri’s family inside the cordon as they watched the ongoing excavation.

A woman was seen hugging a police officer in the group as the search appeared to come to an end.

“We have been committed to finding Joseph since he went missing 14 months ago,” Det Sgt Alex Simister said.

“I want to acknowledge the resilience of his family throughout this operation. They were present at the river throughout the search and were obviously hopeful for some form of resolution.

“We will continue to search for answers.”

He would have thought, ‘I can do this’

Nothing has been heard or seen of Mr Ahuriri and his vehicle since early on the morning of February 14 last year as Cyclone Gabrielle floodwaters smashed Esk Valley and other parts of Hawke’s Bay.

Last year, police searched Whakatū, Clive, Esk Valley, the Napier-Taupō road, State Highway 5 and State Highway 2 for the 40-year-old.

Police divers and personnel from the Navy’s dive and hydrographic unit, HMNZS Matataua, also searched the coastline near Esk River.

Ahead of the resumption of a private search in July last year, his aunty revealed he had undertaken his fateful drive during the peak of Gabrielle on a mission to “flog my bloody mags”.

As Cyclone Gabrielle battered Poverty Bay — and started tracking down to Hawke’s Bay on what would be a deadly wet-weather pounding — Mr Ahuriri got in his truck and left Gisborne about 4pm on February 13.

He said he expected to be back around 2am the next day, meaning he would be leaving Napier by 11pm.

Around the time he would have originally planned to leave after the short night-time stopover in Gisborne, severe flooding was beginning beyond Esk Valley.

Given the conditions, he made a late-night booking into a motel on the outskirts of Napier for several hours before attempting to drive home.

“Knowing how that guy is, he would have tried to get through,” his aunty said.

“He would have thought, ‘I can do this. I know the roads. I can make it’. My daughter did everything to beg him to stay but he was like, ‘I will be alright Cuz, I just need to get home’.”

— Hawke’s Bay Today