Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Bodies of two men missing in Tongariro National Park found

NZ Herald
9 Sep, 2017 03:18 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A search member continues day nine of the search for the two missing men. Photo / Supplied

A search member continues day nine of the search for the two missing men. Photo / Supplied

The bodies of two men who fled from police have been found in Tongariro National Park.

Police said the bodies were discovered today, and the men's families had been informed.

Police Iwi Liaison Officers are continuing to offer them support.

The discovery came after an extensive search over the past four weeks by Police,
LandSAR, specialist search teams, Police National Dive Squad, dogs, and hundreds of volunteers.

Vincent Taurima, 21, pictured with son TJ, 1, went missing in Tongariro National Park. Photo / Supplied
Vincent Taurima, 21, pictured with son TJ, 1, went missing in Tongariro National Park. Photo / Supplied
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The men's bodies were found south of the Mangatawai Stream between 1pm and 2.30pm, a police spokesperson said.

Three teams consisting of a dozen people were searching the area.

"Police were committed to finding the men," the spokesperson said.

Police thanked everyone who assisted with the search.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It is important that we have been able to bring the men back to their whanau to provide them with a sense of closure at this difficult time," Senior Constable Barry Shepherd said.

The men's deaths will be referred to the Coroner.

Vincent Taurima and Hakopa Ngaronoa disappeared in the park on August 12.

They were allegedly driving a stolen vehicle, prompting the police chase, before disappearing into the bush off Tree Trunk Gorge Rd, near the Desert Rd.

Discover more

New Zealand

Lost climber spends night on Mt Ruapehu

27 Aug 12:30 AM
New Zealand

Tongariro National Park search: Police brings in recovery dogs

04 Sep 11:58 PM

The following day they made contact with police, saying they were lost and cold and needed help.

Previous searches uncovered a campfire, a pair of shoes, two piles of clothing and a beanie.

Police have previously voiced serious concerns for the men's welfare considering their lack of experience in the bush and the inappropriate clothing they were wearing.

Searches had concentrated on the far eastern edge of the Tongariro National Park.

The police spokesperson said the search for the pair had never been called off.

Taupo police senior sergeant Tony Jeurrison said police were grateful to have been able to bring the men home to their whanau.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He described the search as "extraordinary" due to the length of time and number of groups involved.

"Police are obligated to exhaust all avenues when they are searching for missing people. That's the mandate that we have to operate by.

"We told the whanau from the very first day, the whole purpose of the search was to find these two men and bring them home, and we're very grateful to have been able to do that."

The full circumstances of how the men came to be lost would be canvassed in front of a coroner, and he was unable to comment further, he said.

He added that the search had been difficult because of the vegetation, and the weather conditions, which had been wet and cold.

He praised the various search teams for their planning and execution of the search.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They've been alongside us from day one."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Speed limit on part of Te Ngae Rd to rise following review

20 Jun 05:01 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Homicide investigation after woman found dead in Tūrangi

20 Jun 03:24 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Crowds gather for Rotorua Matariki celebration at Te Puia

20 Jun 03:00 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Speed limit on part of Te Ngae Rd to rise following review

Speed limit on part of Te Ngae Rd to rise following review

20 Jun 05:01 AM

Te Ngae Rd's speed limit will rise from 50km/h to 60km/h after a review.

Homicide investigation after woman found dead in Tūrangi

Homicide investigation after woman found dead in Tūrangi

20 Jun 03:24 AM
Crowds gather for Rotorua Matariki celebration at Te Puia

Crowds gather for Rotorua Matariki celebration at Te Puia

20 Jun 03:00 AM
From the ashes: New golf clubhouse unveiled five years after devastating fire

From the ashes: New golf clubhouse unveiled five years after devastating fire

19 Jun 10:12 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP