Calls in cold case hearten family

The family of a missing Rotorua man whose cold case has featured on television, hope it may turn up new evidence.
One person who saw last week's episode of The Missing, which featured the disappearance 20 years ago of Lance Kapua, has contacted producers to say they may have known him after he disappeared from Rotorua.
Others have contacted TV One to say his body may be that of an unidentified man found in the Waitakere Ranges in 2005.
Mr Kapua went missing from his Koutu home in July 1989.
"People have seemed to take a real interest in Lance Kapua's disappearance," The Missing producer Philly Iles said.
"They feel for him and for his family. All the emails had genuine intent and made valid comments."
Among the emails to the programme producers were alleged sightings of Mr Kapua across New Zealand as well as links to unidentified bodies.
"We got some very detailed emails about an association over a period of time and that person could have been Mr Kapua," Mrs Iles said.
"We've had people call in about the unidentified body found in the Waitakeres - people are aware of other cases and make links.
"We were quite blown away by the response. We had an email come in as the programme was still on air and they're still coming in.
"People have found a real empathy with Lance and his sister Audrey."
She said the response was more than what had been received for other programmes and TVNZ was forwarding all information to Rotorua police Detective Sergeant John Wilson for police to follow up.
Mr Wilson said that although the theory of Mr Kapua had disappeared in a hot pool was dispelled on the programme, he had been contacted by a former Rotorua detective who had covered a similar case in 1980.
"A man fell in a hot pool and his body was later recovered in pieces," he said.
"This still could very well be the case of what's happened to Mr Kapua."
He said there were several suggestions as to what had happened to Mr Kapua, such as unconfirmed sightings on the South Island, but "nothing startling".
"Unless we receive some information more substantial than we've received we're not any further ahead," Mr Wilson said.
Audrey Martin, Mr Kapua's sister, said family members had done all they could to find her brother and now they had to wait.
"It gives us a greater sense that we will get closure," Mrs Martin said.
"At the end of the day it was a last-ditch effort.
"We've done as much as we possibly can. There's not a lot we can do now except sit and wait."
Mr Kapua vanished from Rotorua on Saturday, July 1, 1989 - the night before his 31st birthday party.
Police helped search for him but the case was never upgraded to the CIB.
Mr Kapua, who had schizophrenia, lived with his mother, Polly Kapua, in Whittaker Rd, in Koutu.
On the night before his birthday, he had told his mother he was heading out for a walk.
He was seen walking around Rotorua that night - including a sighting at Joe's Diner - but was never seen again.