Joseph Ahuriri
by Neil Reid, NZ Herald
Ahead of the resumption of the private search for missing father-of-eight Joseph Ahuriri, his aunt has revealed he had undertaken his fateful drive during the peak of Cyclone Gabrielle on a mission to “flog” her expensive wheels.
August 14 marks the six-month anniversary of the last sighting of Ahuriri; spotted inspecting his white Toyota Hilux after he had parked in a near-deserted truck stop on the outskirts of Napier at 5.46am.
The Black Power NZ gang associate then drove north on SH2, attempting to get back to his home in Gisborne in an ill-fated drive which his aunt said, given the weather and road conditions, he was an “idiot” to have considered.
Gisborne-based Shivaun Nepia-Te Aturangi — whose husband Eru is helping spearhead a private search for their nephew — also revealed to the Herald what Ahuriri’s motivation was for what was meant to be whistle-stop return trip from Gisborne to Napier.
“I know that he went down there to flog my bloody mags,” she said.
“My daughter was selling some Pirellis for me and he asked me where they were. So, I know when we find the truck, my Pirellis are going to be on there.
“Afterwards I said, ‘Where are my tyres by the way’. That is when it came out ... (my daughter said), ‘Joe grabbed those and put them on his truck’. I was like, ‘What the hell’.”
Pirelli is one of the world’s leading tyre and wheel manufacturers. And depending on the type of model of rim and tyre, their products are also among the most expensive.
Nepia-Te Aturangi said her daughter hoped Joseph might later give her some money for the expensive wheels, but she said it would definitely not be anywhere near what they were worth.
“He came down to flog my good Pirellis,” she said. “He had been after them for a while. I really want to find his truck just to get my tyres back as well.”
As Cyclone Gabrielle battered Tairāwhiti — and started tracking down to Hawke’s Bay on what would be a deadly wet-weather pounding — 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 Napier, 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,” Nepia-Te Aturangi said.
“That idiot would definitely have tried to get through. Even my granddaughter who travelled a lot with him, she says, ‘It would have been the most epic drive nan’. And I am thinking ‘My God’.
“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’ll be all right cuz, I just need to get home’.”
Ahuriri’s loved ones believe his ute — registration DZH116 — was swept off SH2 somewhere between Napier and Wairoa, or several back roads, including Darkys Spur Rd, a route which would avoid washouts already reported on the state highway.
Early next week a family-led search mission will resume. The search has been on hold for several weeks given the recent heavy rainfall in Hawke’s Bay.
It will centre around Devil’s Elbow — a section of SH2 badly damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle — and Tangoio, 23km north of Napier.
“It is an area of interest, but the weather has hindered us a lot,” Nepia-Te Aturangi said.
“Even when (the rain) stops, you have to wait a week for the water to settle up in the hills (before it is safe to search again). There is a lot of unstable land still around the areas (we are searching) . . . you just have to be careful.”
The search has been funded by family and also via the sale of T-shirts remembering Ahuriri. Nepia-Te Aturangi said the family also couldn’t thank enough, members of the public who had donated their time and expertise to the search.
“When you least expect it, a lot of people have come forward to help,” she said.
“The support for the search has been great, just your average Joe Public turning out to help, those who had a spare weekend. There is also a 4WD club in Hawke’s Bay who were amazing and they are still out looking (for Joe) whenever they go out.”
When the search crew return to the Tangoio area they will be able to use a digger which has been provided free of charge to help clear debris. Previous searches had unearthed items of clothing and car parts which were sent to Ahuriri’s partner Clarissa Poi for potential identification.
But none of those items have been linked to the missing 40-year-old.
In May, police announced they intended to work with GNS Science, who were supplying search equipment that would allow a search below the silt level.
Police said they would use a drone with a magnetometer to search an area north of Napier. It was hoped the equipment would be able to define any large submerged metallic objects.
Detective Inspector Dave de Lange said this week there was no update available into the Ahuriri case, including the outcome of that planned search.
In the days after Cyclone Gabrielle’s deadly destruction in Hawke’s Bay, Ahuriri was among the more than 4500 people listed as not being able to be contacted by friends, neighbours or family.
By February 28, Eastern District Commander Superintendent Jeanette Park said that number had been reduced to just five people.
Park said police believed Ahuriri’s disappearance was unlikely to be cyclone-related, “although this cannot be fully ruled out”.
Ahuriri’s older brother Mike Ahuriri reacted angrily at the time, saying: “The statement
. . . it may not be Cyclone Gabrielle-related is bulls***.”
Nepia-Te Aturangi told the Herald that given her nephew’s gang links, the family had expected to get a “negative reaction” from the police.
“We just want to rise above that because we know what Joe was like,” she said.
“He would never stay away from his mother, let alone his children. And he always called if he was going to be late for something.”
She said he hadn’t been formally involved with Black Power NZ after the tragic and sudden health-related death of his then-partner several years earlier.
“Hence why he pulled away and it all became about his children,” she said. “Then he partnered with Clarissa who had also had a bit of tragedy.
“They were just starting to get happy and then this happened.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the New Zealand Herald in 2014.
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