Cold case inquiry: New information

Police are investigating new information about the disappearance 25 years ago of Milton Channing.

A woman has named a man she claims shot and killed the Taupo roofer whose disappearance prompted a large-scale search between Rotorua and Taupo after information his body had been buried in the area.

Mr Channing, brother of Rotorua's Ray Channing, who died in a speedway accident last month, set out for Whangamata from Taupo on New Year's Eve in 1987 and has not been seen since. His ute was found by hunters two years later in a forest.

Police narrowed down inquiries to a local man who was involved in growing cannabis with Mr Channing. He was interviewed but was never charged.

In 1998, police conducted a large-scale search of Tauhara Forest at Broadlands after receiving information Mr Channing was buried there.

A woman has now come forward claiming she was told what happened.

In an online post, family friend Beverly Jackson wrote she told police the killer's name and gave details about where to find the body.

"Milton did make it to Whangamata that night. He was shot in the head by a certain person named PW. He was killed in Whanamata [sic]," she wrote.

"Milton was shot in the head, buried near a drug patch and his car driven to Rotorua forest and abandoned."

Ms Jackson said "several people" had passed the same tip to police.

Mr Channing's family were too upset to speak about developments in the case.

Their son was described by friends as a popular man from a respected Taupo family.

Bay of Plenty field crime manager, Rotorua-based Detective Inspector Mark Loper, said police were making inquiries into the case.

"At this point, there is nothing that we can advance," he said. "It's a matter of resourcing and we will get to it when we can."