Missing woman Kayla Pawa found alive and beaten, whānau distraught, police continue investigation

Kayla Pawa has been located alive.

A woman missing for three weeks has been found alive bruised and battered and under police protection.

Kayla Maree Pawa, 28, who was last seen on June 12 at a Birkenhead address on Auckland’s North Shore, was located yesterday - much to the relief of her worried whānau.

A whānau member, who the Herald has agreed not to name and who only arrived in Auckland late last night, said police have told her Kayla was “pretty beat up”.

“She has been through some traumatic experiences and can’t yet make a statement to police,” the woman, a relative, said.

“I know when I see her, she will break down, but we are whānau and are here for her.

“Our whānau are pretty angry at what has gone down.”

The whānau had posted initially that they thought Pawa had allegedly been kidnapped.

The woman said she’s only going public to thank the many friends and whānau who were worried about Pawa and posted their concerns online.

“Our whānau would like to thank all those who put messages on social media and we want to just let them know Kayla is alive,” she said.

“That is a big relief to us because we feared the worst and we didn’t want Kayla to be another statistic.”

Kayla Pawa was last seen on June 12 on Auckland's North Shore.

Pawa was last seen on June 12 on Auckland’s North Shore and was reported missing two weeks later on June 27.

A police spokesman confirmed they had located a woman.

”Police can confirm the 28-year-old woman has since been located. Further inquiries are currently under way into the incident, and at this stage we are not in a position to provide additional comment. A further update will be provided at a later stage.”

The woman is hoping to take Pawa back home with her so she has the aroha, whānau and support she will need.

Joseph Los’e joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and prior to joining NZME worked for 12 years for Te Whānau o Waipareira.