Into thin air: Taranaki man Michael Tippett missing for 40 days

Oliver, Safphire and Emily are supporting each other as they wait for news of Michael (inset).

It has been 40 days since Michael Tippett disappeared from the dairy farm in Taranaki where he lives with his family.
It has been 40 days since Safphire has seen her husband.
It has been 40 days since Oliver, 15, has been able to tell his dad he loves him, and it has been 40 days since Emily, 11, has been able to go to sleep without crying for her dad.
The family have spent 40 days hoping, praying and searching for Michael, who seems to have simply vanished into thin air.

In a way, time has stopped since Michael Tippett disappeared.

"It feels as though we are just waiting. We are hoping he will just walk back in the door, and we can't really allow ourselves to think about the what-ifs, we just have to wait, to hope, we just don't know what will happen," says his wife, Safphire.

In other ways, time marches on.

There are still cows to be milked every day.

Safphire and Michael are managers of a dairy farm in Cardiff, Taranaki, and the 280 cows still need Safphire's attention.

Oliver turned 15 a couple of weeks after Michael went missing. He and Emily have returned to school and have homework to complete.

"It's hard though. I want things to be as normal as they can be for the kids, but there is this big hole. There is no Michael, and we don't know what has happened."

A clock in the family home jauntily advertises being on "island time". With the clock numerals all mixed up, implying time doesn't matter. It is a souvenir of happier times, a holiday in the sun.

"We went to Rarotonga as a family a few years ago. It was so much fun, we didn't want to come home. "

Two years ago the Tippett family were in Rarotonga. Oliver pulling a face for the camera as he didn't want to leave.

Michael had enjoyed the holiday, says Safphire, and as she looks at photos of their time in Rarotonga she smiles, remembering the fun they had as a family.

"He has a great sense of humour. He always makes me laugh. He is a great dad as well, and has fun with the kids."

Ironically, the clock has stopped, seemingly also stuck on hold, waiting for Michael to walk back in and start everything up again.

Posing for a selfie in Rarotonga, with no idea just two years later Safphire would be looking though the photos to find images of Michael to be shared in the search for him,

Without Michael, the family are stuck in limbo. Time, and life goes on, but with a big hole in it filled with uncertainty about the future.

There are still bills to be paid. Michael and his income are missing, but school, swim club, groceries all still need to be paid for.

Safphire's sister has set up a givealittle page for the family, to try and help cover their everyday costs while they continue to search for answers.

People have been very kind, says Safphire, and she is thankful to live in such a supportive community.

"People have offered help with meals, strangers have donated and offered to help in various ways. That's has been really quite special to be on the receiving end of such an outpouring of love and support."

So many people volunteered to help with a search the family had planned, they had to scale it back, says Safphire.

"We had over 250 people offering to help, we realised it wasn't going to be safe. So many people going over quite dangerous terrain, we didn't want someone else to go missing, or to get hurt."

The search did go ahead, but with a much smaller group. Sadly, it turned up nothing.

"We have had a drone go out a couple of times, looking around the cliffs where we know Michael loved to go. It hasn't come back with anything though."

Safphire says she just doesn't know what else to do or where to look.

"The police have looked, we have had experienced search and rescue people look. We have walked the roads, the waterways, anywhere we think he could be. We've even consulted a psychic, but nothing we or the police have tried has turned up anything."

Michael is a distinctive-looking man, says Safphire, and while police did receive reports of some possible sightings of him in the first day or two, there has been nothing conclusive.

She says their bank accounts haven't been touched, nor has his cellphone been used.

Safphire says she can't imagine Michael has chosen to harm himself.

"He loves his family. His kids are everything to him. He wouldn't do that to them."

She and Michael have been together for 22 years, meeting when she was just 16. Twenty-two years of love, laughter, building a life and a family together.

She can't imagine him just walking away from all that, nor does she want to.

"He knows how much he is loved. Emily is such a daddy's girl, she is just waiting for him to walk back in through the door. He wouldn't stay away by choice."

Police have searched the area and taken Michael's toothbrush for DNA testing, says Safphire, but so far nothing tangible has been found.

"They couldn't use sniffer dogs to look for him because they can only be used in the first few hours apparently."

It was more than a few hours from when Michael was last seen to when Safphire realised he was missing she says.

"It was only when he didn't turn up for milking that I knew something was wrong."

The grainy image of Michael accompanying the police missing person alert.

Detective Chris Henry, who is leading the investigation into Michael's disappearance, says police don't always use sniffer dogs in missing persons cases.

Police are waiting for results from the forensic testing they have done he says.

"We are continuing with the investigation. We have had a number of potential sightings of Michael on rural roads soon after he went missing."

Meanwhile, two children are missing their dad. A woman is missing her husband and a family wait for answers.

Michael's photo was distributed by police through a media release soon after he was reported missing, and Safphire says she hopes people outside of Taranaki are aware he is missing.

"He could be anywhere, so we need people all over New Zealand keeping a look out for him."

It has been 40 days since Michael Tippett didn't turn up to milk.

It has been 40 days since his wife last saw him, and it has been 40 days since Michael's children were able to hug him.

Time is standing still at the farm on Poto Rd, but a clock is ticking.

Every day gone is a day when leads are older and tracks are harder to trace.

Every day Michael is still missing the likelihood of Safphire, Oliver and Emily ever getting closure is reduced.

"We just want him home," says Safphire.

Have you seen Michael?

Michael is about 187cm [6'2"], and has reddish brown hair. Last time he was seen he had a beard and was wearing gumboots, green farm overalls and a checked shirt.

If you have seen him, or think you know anything about his disappearance, call the police on 105.

The givealittle page is www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/missing-michael-tippett-family-fundraiser

Alternatively, call into the Stratford Press office on Broadway and talk to the editor about ways help can be given.