Whakatau was due to appear at noon today on the three charges, but the matter was transferred to Rotorua District Court without him making an appearance.
Whakatau was remanded in custody, where he had been since his arrest yesterday when he and LA were found in eastern Bay of Plenty.
The lawyer said he had spent five hours with Whakatau and the police yesterday and there was no indication over whether his client would face charges related to the girl.
"Their official position is that the investigation is ongoing," Mr Tuck said.
Police located Whakatau and LA at a Te Kaha address yesterday morning after receiving a phone call from a member of the public, five days after concerns were raised about her.
Police were alerted after her family received Facebook messages and texts on Saturday saying she was being held against her will and needed help.
Whakatau was remanded in custody by consent and will next appear in Rotorua District Court on August 17.
Family 'want to get to the bottom' of the incident
LA's mother Marie Tukerangi says the family is relieved, but the ordeal is not yet over.
Today specialist interviewers will speak to LA to piece together the events surrounding her alleged kidnapping.
Ms Tukerangi said she was overwhelmed with relief once she heard the news.
"It's just a relief to know that she's safe. Now it's just a matter of this process of what her events were and what she had to endure.
"[We're all] pretty exhausted...it's a big ordeal and we just want to get to the bottom of it."
She said she was not sure when LA would be able to come home.
"It's not over until it's over. It's going to be a long process," Ms Tukerangi said.
Manukau Urban Maori Authority's Mereana Rennie said the whanau would be with LA when she was interviewed today.
"That's the only information that we have at the moment," Ms Rennie said.
"They're heading down there and she's safe and she's going to be interviewed."
Police have not yet confirmed whether LA was kidnapped.
Detective Senior Sergeant Zane Smith said police were piecing together the events of the last couple of weeks to establish whether any criminal offences had been committed.
"This work is likely to take some days and it is not appropriate for me to make further comment on this work until it is complete," Mr Smith said.
The hunt for the missing teen kicked off on Saturday - after she sent a series of panicked messages to her family, saying she had been kidnapped by Whakatau.
The alarming messages prompted her family to immediately call the police, and were the last her family heard from her until receiving the call saying she was safe on Thursday.
Police issued a warrant for Whakatau's arrest for breach of release conditions and warned the public not to approach him.
In April, Whakatau was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment for two counts of burglary. He was released in June.
Police found the pair in Te Kaha, east of Whakatane, after a member of the public reported a possible sighting of the Toyota Corolla linked to the case.
Mr Smith said an "overwhelming" public response contributed to police finding LA.
"I do want to express my sincere thanks to the community for their assistance.
"Without the overwhelming public response over the last few days we may not have located LA as quickly as we have."
