Waiting wives refuse to give up hope

By ELIZABETH BINNING

They stood on the shore of Whitianga Harbour yesterday and waited.

Two young women waiting but not wanting to hear the news that their husbands, Savelio Lolesio and Sanualio Kiola, might be dead.

They travelled down from their Auckland homes after their husbands disappeared on a late-night fishing trip and were desperate to join the search. But police advised against it for fear of what they might find.

The two Tongan men, cousins who were in Whitianga to work, disappeared early on Tuesday after they had ventured out into the estuary with a workmate, Aisake Lavelua, to check a fishing net.

Police believe the men had an argument and that Mr Lavelua, who speaks very little English, swam ashore leaving his friends, who are both 26 and parents of young children, still in the boat.

Standing helplessly on the shore, Mr Lolesio's wife, Karen, struggled to believe that her husband of five years, a strong man who had been around water all his life, could have drowned.

She clings desperately to the hope the men made it across the estuary and headed into the bush, but were too tired or lost to make it back out again.

"He is the strongest man I have ever known, both mentally and physically. I can't believe that he would have drowned. He is a strong swimmer. He is a strong mind.

"It just doesn't make sense."

Mrs Lolesio said her husband was familiar with the area because the couple had spent several months in Whitianga on an earlier job.

This time Mrs Lolesio stayed in Auckland with their two young daughters. Her husband joined them every weekend.

Whitianga resident Phillip Collins said he heard the men set off about 1.30am.

"I thought it was just some young yahoos mucking around because they were making a lot of noise," he said. "Then about 2.45 this guy came knocking at my door.

"He was panicked and told me two of his friends had gone missing out there [in the estuary]."

Police found the boat a few hours later washed up on a sandbank.

Sergeant Tony Mumford said the men were not wearing lifejackets and had been drinking.

They were wearing woollen jerseys and shorts. Their shoes were found in the dinghy.

Both men were employed by Auckland Stonemasons and were working on the Whitianga Waterways Project - a $100 million residential housing project along the canal.

Their boss, Jim Lavas, said Mr Kiola had only just started working for the company but Mr Lolesio, who was more like a friend than an employee, had been with the company for about five years.

"I couldn't speak more highly of a young person than I could of him. He was a natural stonesman.

"He was a close friend and fantastic employee. An absolute gentleman. If he doesn't come back it's going to be a big loss for everyone."

Coastguard John Ellwood said more than 20 volunteers had spent the past two days searching the estuary, harbour, sandbanks and bushland - by foot and by boat. They had covered at least 100sq km in their search.

He said the conditions on Tuesday morning - an outgoing tide, strong current, rain and winds of up to 25 knots - would have made it dangerous on the water.

Mrs Lolesio's mother, Bernadette, said people might be critical of three young men going out to check nets in the middle of the night without lifejackets.

However, she said the men had grown up in a country where the water was not as dangerous and lifejackets were not commonly used.

"If you lived a life in Tonga you are more or less born on the water. They have grown up like that."

Mrs Lolesio said she was not sure how long she and Mrs Kiola would stay.

"We are still praying for their return. We just can't explain how much we love them.

"They were really good men. Really strong. They loved us."