A pub, a pond and a body: What happened to Mikey?

Police say Michael Tamatea's death is not suspicious, but his whānau have doubts and seek more answers. Photo / RNZ

By Lauren Crimp of RNZ

At 7.30pm one February evening, Michael Tamatea knocked off his shift cooking at a Levin restaurant and headed to the pub next door.

Twelve hours later, he was found dead in a pond at a beach 15 minutes’ drive away.

Police have declined to answer RNZ’s specific questions, and say his death is not suspicious – but his whānau have told Lauren Crimp they think otherwise.

‘By Crikey Mikey’

Michael Joseph Tamatea – Mikey to most – was quite the character.

“They called him ‘By Crikey Mikey’ because he did weird shit, but it was just his personality, he was just a weird kid,” laughs his older sister Sarah Tamatea.

He was known for his impromptu dances, anywhere, any time.

“He didn’t care if people thought he was weird; he was just him.”

The 34-year-old was no saint – a “pain in the arse” – but had a heart of gold, she said.

He had two children and was the kind of uncle that would stop by and say: “I’m taking the kids to the park.”

Mikey was a beautiful cook, loved karaoke and poker.

He was adventurous and moved around a lot.

“He liked the bogan, wildchild, free spirit kind of life, so he would occasionally just pick up a van or a car that he owned and go, ‘I’m off’ and we never knew where he was going to.

“He’d end up on a beach somewhere ringing us, ‘eh, look, I’m having a campfire’.”

But he always came home.

Until that February evening.

What happened to Mikey?

Wednesday, February 19, 2025, was a warm summer’s day.

Mikey headed to The Roadhouse Bar and Grill on Levin’s main drag Oxford St, where he worked as a chef.

He was running late, having taken his new puppy to his brother’s house to be looked after, so he grabbed his nephew’s scooter to head to work, Sarah said.

CCTV footage seen by RNZ showed Mikey in the kitchen that night.

“He’s dancing and flipping the bowls as he’s cooking and stuff like that. So he was happy throughout the evening,” Sarah said.

His shift finished about 7.30pm, a staff member told RNZ.

Michael Tamatea was found dead in a pond at Hōkio Beach after a night out. Photo / RNZ

He wandered to the adjacent bar – The Oxford – where he joined in on a poker tournament, Sarah said.

“He liked to think he was a great poker shark.”

He proved his claim that night, making it through to the finals, to be held in April. He would never make it. A cousin took Mikey’s seat at the table, in his honour.

Sarah said the pub’s CCTV footage from that night – which she has since pored over – showed Mikey popping up to the bar for drinks, and outside to vape.

RNZ has seen some of that footage.

“He was just being Michael, having a beer and games with his boys.

“He was happy, he was laughing, he was smiling,” she said.

The footage RNZ saw showed Mikey was the last person to leave the bar that night, just after 1am, when staff were closing.

A staff member – who RNZ agreed not to name – said they offered him a ride home, which he declined.

“He said ‘nah, nah it’s all good, I’m okay’, and he did a little happy dance,” Sarah said.

RNZ saw footage of Mikey walking up and down Oxford St near the pub, and into the median strip.

He wove a little, and seemed slightly unsteady. But the staff member told RNZ that was how he usually moved.

They said he had been drinking, but was not “legless”.

Mikey can be seen taking off his T-shirt and tucking it into the back of his pants, leaving him just wearing a singlet – it was a warm evening.

But his cap stayed on.

“Michael, no matter what state he’s in, never, ever, ever is without a hat,” Sarah said.

“He’s got a receding hairline and he hated it,” her mum, Lucilla Kerehoma, added.

“He dreaded his hair so that, you know, [it] looked like he had lots of hair, but he was going bald.”

Sarah and the staff member said a Suzuki Swift drove past Mikey before stopping near him for nearly five minutes. RNZ has not seen that footage.

It was too dark to see Mikey or the driver, they said.

Mikey was last seen leaving the bar just after 1am, declining a ride home. Photo / RNZ

Sarah said the driver was a woman, who had been drinking at the same pub that night – but from the CCTV footage she had seen, there was no indication they had been together that night. The staff member agreed.

RNZ has chosen not to name the woman.

Sarah said the police told her Mikey got in the car, and the pair went to McDonald’s.

Police told her CCTV showed them there at 1.36am and he was still wearing his cap, she said.

“And that was the last CCTV footage anybody’s got of Michael.”

Police said the woman drove Mikey to Hōkio Beach, Sarah said.

After that, events are murky.

“That’s where so many questions, and so many stories, and a lot of shit has happened,” Sarah said.

“And that’s where we need the clarity.”

Discovering Mikey’s body

Mikey’s body was found by a dog walker at Hōkio Beach about 7.30am on Thursday, February 20.

He was in a near-stagnant pool of water, Sarah said.

Sarah and her mother took RNZ to the spot.

It is about 100m back from the shoreline, just off a sandy path people drive on to reach the beach. The pool of water is tidal, and two small streams trickle into it. It is below knee deep.

Police told Mikey’s whānau he died by accidental drowning, and that they believed there was no suspicious circumstances, Sarah said.

But she said the police had since told them the coroner would make the final ruling on the cause of Mikey’s death.

A Coroners Court spokesperson confirmed the coroner had opened an inquiry into Mikey’s death.

Inquiries can vary in length, with some taking several years, they said.

Mikey’s mum and sister believed drowning was the “direct” cause of his death – but they have other questions.

They knew he had been drinking, but they believed drugs may have been involved.

The T-shirt and cap he was wearing that night have never been found.

“The first thing we noticed [identifying his body] was ‘where’s his hat? We can see his hair’,” said Sarah.

It is just one of many questions her whānau have.

More crop up as time wears on.

They believe the woman who they say took Mikey to the beach knows more than she has told police.

No suspicious circumstances, police say

Police said while they understood Mikey’s grieving whānau would have “many questions”, they did not believe there were any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

But they said they would assess any new information they received and “progress as appropriate”.

“The matter is now with the coroner to determine the cause of Michael’s death, which police continue to assist with in an information-gathering capacity.”

RNZ put a number of detailed questions to police, and requested an interview, but they declined to make any further comment.

The day after Mikey’s death, the police put out a statement asking to speak to anyone who was in the area between midnight and 2am on Thursday, February 20.

In particular, they wanted to speak to two men who helped a woman by towing her car after it was stuck on the beach.

“While we have no reason to believe these men had any involvement in the man’s death, we are eager to speak to them as we believe they may have valuable information to share.”

Sarah said the men and the woman have spoken to police.

‘Too many rumours, too many lies’

Rumour and speculation swirls through the small town of Levin, and on social media.

Mikey’s mum and siblings get stopped in the street – people are sorry, they ask what happened, they say they heard this or that, they know more and have proof but don’t want to ‘narc’.

“All it’s doing is stoking anger and resentment and hostility,” Sarah said.

“It’s actually hindering us from moving forward because that piece of information that you [the people on the street] have said is just ticking over, and ticking over, and ticking over and then we start thinking of the what ifs, how comes, or whatever.

“There’s just too many rumours, too many lies.”

-RNZ