Police Ten 7 prompts calls about Israel Jack

A reality TV show has helped boost public interest in the death of Israel Jack.

Mr Jack, known to friends and family as Issy, was killed on Te Ngae Rd on Sunday, August 18. He was 20. Mr Jack's death was the main feature of TV2's Police Ten 7 programme which screened on Thursday night and appealed for information from the public.

More than 20 calls relating to Mr Jack and another local case involving a wanted man were received in the first 24 hours.

The wanted man was arrested yesterday, prompting Bay of Plenty Police to tweet "Wanted man back in custody this morning. Thanks @policeten7 and @TheDailyPost for the coverage".

The calls provided "a number of lines of inquiry," said Detective Senior Sergeant Zane Smith, who is leading the investigation.

"The fact we are still receiving calls from the public and are still being provided with new information to follow through on is very pleasing. It shows that the community is motivated to help, and the investigation team is equally motivated to find out exactly how Mr Jack died and whether others had a hand in his death."

He said there were 15 detectives working on the investigation and since the file was handed to the CIB by the road policing unit on August 22 they had staff working on it every day.

Mr Jack, who was a former Rotorua Boys' High School student, was last seen at the Caltex Te Ngae service station at 4.20am. Five minutes later he was killed after being hit by two cars, 1.4km away.

Police want to hear from anyone who was on Te Ngae Rd, Owhata Rd or in and around the Te Ngae Shopping Centre between 4am and 5am on Sunday, August 18.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Rotorua police on 07 348 0099 or via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.