Herman Rockefeller's disappearance has stumped one of his long-time friends and former colleagues, Sir Selwyn Cushing, one of Hawke's Bay's most successful businessmen.
Mr Rockefeller, the Australian millionaire who vanished from Melbourne Airport on Thursday, has close links to New Zealand after being based in Wellington from 1992 to 1999.
Sir Selwyn, director of Esam Cushing in Hastings, worked at Brierley Investments in the Majestic Towers in Wellington alongside Mr Rockefeller in the '90s.
Sir Selwyn was a director and eventually became executive chairman of Brierley International while Mr Rockefeller was treasurer.
Mr Rockefeller is also a director of Overton Holdings, which owns the Hawke's Bay Today building. It was an unseen purchase he made in 2007 and it wasn't until later in the year that Mr Rockefeller touched down in Hawke's Bay to see the Karamu Rd building located across the road from Esam Cushing.
"He was an extremely talented treasurer and was brilliant at foreign exchange," Sir Selwyn said.
"He was very diligent and had a good personality.
"This news has knocked me around a bit. I just can't quite get my head around it."
Sir Selwyn described his good friend as an astute gentleman and slammed suggestions Mr Rockefeller could have been in financial strife.
"Herman always underplayed, not overplayed. He is a highly intelligent person."
Sir Selwyn said until they both left the then Brierley Investments in 2000, he would have been Mr Rockefeller's closest friend and business colleague. He had spent considerable time with Mr Rockefeller and wife Vicky. was originally from around Dunedin.
Sir Selwyn said he would wait to see if any more information emerged before making contact with Mrs Rockefeller.
The search took a twist yesterday with an unconfirmed sighting in rural Victoria, Australia.
Jan Stiteri, co-owner of the Gordon General Store, said Mr Rockefeller came in on Monday and had a hot pie, sausage roll and a drink and returned on Monday to buy milk.
She had a brief chat with him about his daughter.
"We still don't know 100 per cent if it's him, but we're pretty sure," she said yesterday. "He looked a little bit unshaven."
Gordon, a township of less than 400 people, is near where Mr Rockefeller's 2007 Toyota Prius was found undisturbed and locked near an abandoned country homestead on Monday, about 75km west of Melbourne.
Ms Stiteri said police probably had enough information to confirm if it was a positive sighting based on the conversation she had with him and prints or DNA evidence gathered at the store.
"He said something about one of the children and if it's true, it's him," she said.
Police detectives had told her not to reveal the exact piece of information so that it could be confirmed with the family.
Friends and family are at a loss to explain the disappearance.
Disappearance baffles
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.