Tauranga Hospital anaesthetist Dr David Holland was reported missing on March 11, 2022. Photo / NZME
Heartbroken and exhausted by years of uncertainty, Karen Holland is issuing a desperate plea for answers as the fourth anniversary of her son’s disappearance draws near.
David Phillip Holland, a Tauranga Hospital anaesthetist registrar, was last seen at his Pāpāmoa home on March 11, 2022.
It was thought he had planned to go for a swim near the end of Pacific View Rd. When he failed to show up for work that evening, friends and whānau raised the alarm.
Extensive land, air and sea searches failed to find him.
Almost a year later, CCTV footage surfaced showing a man resembling David walking north on the Sandhurst Drive overbridge towards State Highway 29A at 7.58pm on the night he disappeared.
The person was wearing hiking boots, tan trousers, a dark hooded top, and was carrying a bag. The clothing was similar to items missing from David’s home.
Last month, Karen travelled from her home in Swansea, Wales back to Tauranga and met Detective Senior Sergeant Michael Varnam to discuss the police investigation.
She said she wanted to keep David’s story “alive and fresh” in the minds of people who may hold the answers she “desperately” needed.
She viewed a clearer version of the CCTV footage with Varnam, and she was convinced the man in the video was David.
The video also appeared to show the same man walking down Truman Lane a few minutes later.
She believed this was evidence that David had continued down the lane, past Mainfreight, towards the Te Maunga Transfer Station and State Highway 29A.
An estuary lies at the lane’s eastern end, and she was uncertain how thoroughly it had been searched.
“Obviously, the police don’t want to commit to it being David without making further inquiries, but I could see it was him,” Karen said.
She is urging the police to search further in the Truman Lane area.
“If anything happened there, it needs to be searched.”
Police were also taking another look at the contents of David’s mobile phone.
“Michael [Varnam] told me the police now have more sophisticated tools to access previously unavailable information from this device,” she said.
Karen said she was awaiting a response from the police to her request to view all the information linked to the investigation.
She urged people to cast their minds back to March 2022.
“Anything people can remember – any information at all that could be linked to David, not just on the night he disappeared – it could help provide the answers or new places to search.
“I just want people not to forget him. David could light up any room, and I want those who knew and cared about my son to keep him in their hearts.”
She said knowing where he was, whatever the outcome, was crucial.
“I don’t want David to become another missing person statistic. Anything that can relieve this ambiguous loss is better than living without answers.”
Originally from Swansea, David had lived in New Zealand since 2017 and applied for New Zealand residency shortly before he vanished.
Karen said they had been in regular contact, exchanging several calls and WhatsApp messages in January and February of 2022. On March 3, David sent her a message expressing distress about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Then on March 10, the day before he vanished, he sent what would be his final message: “Everything is lovely here, thank you [followed by a smiley face emoji]. Just done some teaching for the junior doctors on pain. I’m holding on to the last of summer with some good surf along the coast.”
She said David had also texted about reading about the different ways people could support Ukraine, such as booking Airbnbs for refugees and displaced people.
“That was the last I heard from him.”
At one point, she briefly wondered whether David, who had a “massive social conscience”, might have left New Zealand to help in Ukraine as a medic.
He had been learning French with the intention of joining Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders.
During her Tauranga visit, Karen said she made the “painful and emotional” decision to clear a storage locker holding his belongings.
“I’ve donated quite a bit of David’s really nice stuff to Waipuna Hospice, which is a great cause and a very supportive organisation in the local community.”
She donated furniture, clothes, board games, “excellent” diving gear and his underwater camera. He was an experienced diver and the medical lead on diving expeditions.
Karen returned to Swansea last month with some items she and her son cherished.
She holds close to her heart her Evolve charm bracelets with 22 New Zealand-made beads, representing memories of her and David’s “wonderful times” travelling together.
She said he was constantly in her thoughts.
“Life has changed forever for our family, a further tragedy after the death of David’s father, Phillip, from motor neurone disease in 2012, to whom he was very close.
“When I’m walking around, I’m looking at people’s faces all the time, particularly anyone who might have David’s colouring, because I think it could be that face that’s lost in the crowd.”
She acknowledged the emotional toll of David’s absence, but said she was fortunate to have the support from “excellent friends”, including David’s close mate Dean Ella, whom she described as her “rock”, and her two other sons.
“But day-to-day, it’s bloody terrible not knowing what happened.
“To be honest, I veer between thinking David’s gone and I won’t see him again, and having hope that he is still out there and we will meet again.”
Varnam said the police continued to make inquiries into David’s disappearance.
Comprehensive searches were conducted when he was reported missing.
“However, unfortunately, these were unsuccessful, and his whereabouts were still unknown.
“As we approach the four-year anniversary, we acknowledge David’s family will have unanswered questions as to what happened in 2022, and we continue to work to find those answers.”
Missing person cases remained open and were subject to extensive annual reviews, he said.
“We are always interested to hear from anyone who might have information about David and encourage people to report any information to the police."
Anyone with information that might help the police can visit 105.police.govt.nz, click “Update Report” or call 105 and quote reference file number 220312/6869.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.