Without a trace
New Zealand Listener|January 27 - February 02, 2024
Piha is world renowned for its wild surf but it has another claim to fame - six people have disappeared. Are they the victims of a serial killer and is it time for an inquiry?
SARAH CATHERALL
Without a trace

Candida Beveridge remembers the night Iraena Asher went missing at Piha. She had been up all night dealing with the death of her father, who like her, was a resident of the beach community.

On October 10, 2004, Asher, a 25-year-old part-time model and student teacher, disappeared from the blacksand wild-surf town, and Beveridge witnessed the shock and impact of the woman's disappearance on the 1000strong community.

Years later, the Auckland director of shows like The Bachelor and Down for Love has co-directed a true-crime series, Black Coast Vanishings, about the six people who have gone missing from Piha since 1992.

Co-director Megan Jones also lived in Piha for a time. Her involvement in the show comes after directing and producing the acclaimed Six Angry Women and No Māori Allowed. Jones was aware of how Asher's disappearance haunted the community - and that few people were satisfied by the police investigation or the coroner's findings.

When two further women went missing from the Mercer Bay Loop Track in 2012 and 2017 respectively, Sir Bob Harvey, the former mayor of Waitakere, went public about his conviction that the disappearances were connected - raising questions about whether more of them might be as well. Harvey's 2018 Metro magazine article about the three missing women sparked interest in a screen production. Since then, he tells the Listener, he has felt like a local Sherlock Holmes as he tried to find answers, especially for the grieving families. "I still live at Karekare. I'm [neighbouring] still a lifeguard and I still feel that everyone who comes to Piha beach should go home. I can't believe that people vanish without trace. Not one or two, but six... We're talking a lot of people."

In the first episode, Harvey declares: "I don't believe it's anything but a horrendous crime scene." He speculates that a serial killer is on the loose, but other locals are more sceptical. "Bob loves a good story," says one.

Denne historien er fra January 27 - February 02, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra January 27 - February 02, 2024-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA NEW ZEALAND LISTENERSe alt
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024