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Police no closer to discovering what happened to Breanna Muriwai

Author
Vita Molyneux,
Publish Date
Wed, 14 Dec 2022, 2:32pm
Breanna Muriwai was last captured with a male associate on the CCTV of a Palmerston North liquor store. Photo / NZ Police
Breanna Muriwai was last captured with a male associate on the CCTV of a Palmerston North liquor store. Photo / NZ Police

Police no closer to discovering what happened to Breanna Muriwai

Author
Vita Molyneux,
Publish Date
Wed, 14 Dec 2022, 2:32pm

Police are no closer to discovering what happened to missing woman Breanna Muriwai, despite a campaign to bring forward more information from the public.

Detective senior sergeant Dave Thompson told the Herald although an episode of 10 7 Aotearoa which featured the missing 22-year-old did generate some tips, none of them were useful.

“None of the information has taken us any closer to discovering what has happened to Breanna or where she may be.”

It is coming up on four months since Muriwai disappeared.

Muriwai was picked up on Friday August 26 by a male friend from Wellington, and the pair drove to Palmerston North, where they stayed overnight. She was last captured on CCTV at 11.15am on Saturday at a liquor store in the area.

That evening, she told a friend she wanted to return home to Paraparaumu and he agreed to drive her home. As the night went on, the pair drove and picked up a second man, who was not known to Muriwai, before driving south to Kimberly Reserve near Levin.

They next stop in Ōtaki where Muriwai’s friend withdraws money from her account.

They then meet a third person at Hyde Park, on the corner of State Highway 1 and Te Horo Beach Rd before heading to Te Horo Beach Rd where they park on the beach access.

The nursing student was reportedly last seen running into the darkness of Te Horo beach in the early hours of August 28.

Her handbag and cellphone were recovered the following day – and although police are speaking with the two men who saw her last, there are too many unanswered questions to conclusively say what happened to her.

Muriwai’s mother Jasmin Gray is desperate to bring her daughter home, and has started organising her own search parties to find a trace of her much-loved daughter.

“We really appreciate everyone’s support,” Gray told the Herald.

“We’re feeling positive and hopeful and so grateful for the support of the community.”

For those who want to help Gray and her whānau but are not able to attend the search, there is a Givealittle page for people to donate to.

The funds will be used to support Muriwai’s family in their search and investigation into her disappearance.

“We just want her home, that’s all.”

Thompson told the Herald they are aware of Muriwai’s family organising searches and are in regular contact with them to support them.

“We remain in close contact with Breanna’s family and we acknowledge their strength during this extremely difficult time. Any questions around their movements are not for police to comment on.”

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