Missing man Joseph Ahuriri: Equipment that can ‘search below the silt’ to be used in search

Police are continuing their search for missing man Joseph Ahuriri.

Scientists are teaming up with police to provide specialist equipment that can “search below the silt level” in the hunt for missing Gisborne man Joseph Ahuriri.

Sunday will mark three months since Ahuriri, 40, was last spotted on CCTV footage at a petrol station just north of Napier during the early morning of February 14 - the same morning Cyclone Gabrielle brought deadly floods to the region.

Land- and water-based searches to date have yet to find any trace of Ahuriri or his white Toyota Hilux ute.

Ahuriri is the last remaining missing person believed to have been in or near floodwaters after the cyclone.

A police spokesperson on Friday said the search was ongoing and GNS Science was supplying search equipment that “will allow us to search below the silt level”.

“A drone with a magnetometer attached will be deployed to an area of interest north of Napier over the next couple of weeks,” the spokesperson said.

“The equipment should be able to define large submerged metallic objects and provide possible locations for further investigation.

CCTV image of Joseph Ahuriri at a petrol station in Bay View just north of Napier, early on February 14. It is his last known sighting. Photo / Police

“Extensive land and water-based searches to date have not located Joseph or his vehicle.”

Ahuriri, who has links to the Gisborne-based chapter of Black Power NZ, left his home in Gisborne on February 13.

Ahuriri’s family said the father of eight had been visiting whānau in Hawke’s Bay and planned to return home to Gisborne, but decided to stay at a Napier hotel because of worsening weather.

He checked out of his hotel at 4.28am on February 14 and was driving a white Toyota Hilux, registration DZH116.

Surveillance images pictured him next to the ute at a petrol station in Bay View at 5.46am, which is his last known sighting.

The police spokesperson said regular contact had been made with his family, who had been kept up-to-date with the investigation.

“Police continue to work hard to locate Joseph and appreciate the assistance from people who have come forward with information and CCTV footage.”

Significant resources have gone into the search in recent months on land and water, including the likes of dive squads searching the coastline.

Anyone who has information that could assist the investigation is urged to contact police by calling 105 and referencing file number 230225/2804. You can also share information by going online to 105.police.govt.nz and use ‘Update Report’.