Search for missing former Northland woman scaled down

Northland woman Kim Bambus (right), who is missing in the Waitakere Ranges, with her sister Storm Bambus from Paihia. Photo / Facebook

The search for a former Northland woman missing in the Waitakere Ranges has been scaled back after police were unable to find any sign of her or evidence of foul play.

Kim Bambus, a former Kerikeri High School student now working as an emergency department nurse at Middlemore Hospital, has not been seen since Friday morning when she went for a run on a bush track near Piha on Auckland's west coast. The 21-year-old's parents and sister Storm still live in the Bay of Islands.

Yesterday teams made up of police and LandSAR volunteers continued searching the area below the Mercer Cliffs and the nearby shore. Earlier in the week surf lifesaving boats and the police Eagle helicopter swept the coastline without success.

Detective Inspector Hayden Mander said authorities had gathered a vast amount of information about Ms Bambus' activities, including by checking her previous internet and phone searches and talking with health staff.

"At this stage there is no evidence that suggests any foul play and nothing to indicate any link whatsoever with any other missing person case," he said.

"Sadly, we have now reached the point where all possible search options have been exhausted, and as such, the search will be scaled back."

Her car, a yellow Hyundai Getz, was found on Friday parked at the entrance to a track with her cellphone inside. She was familiar with the area and is thought to have run the track about 10 days earlier.

Her older sister Storm, who lives in Paihia, put out a call via Facebook on Friday night urging anyone who had seen her "little sis Kim" to contact her urgently.

Kim Bambus' parents are keen sailors who live in Opua. When their daughter went missing they were in their yacht off Great Barrier Island so sailed through the night to Auckland to join in the search.

Her father, German-born Bernd Bambus, has worked as a relief PE teacher at Kerikeri High School.

Storm Bambus' Paihia employers said they were trying to support her as best they could at a very difficult time. A workmate was planning to travel to Auckland last night to support her as the search was scaled back.