Latest news with #WhetuBennett
RNZ News
30-06-2025
- RNZ News
Teen Myah still missing from Auckland home
Police are asking for the public's help in finding Myah, who has been reported missing from the Red Beach area. Photo: NZ Police Police still have concerns for a teenage girl who was reported missing from her Auckland home on Friday. They believed 17-year-old Myah was likely in the North Shore area and were asking anyone who may have seen her to get in contact. Police said she had the mental ability of a 12-year-old. She was last seen in Albany on Friday, after leaving her home in Red Beach. Police believe it is likely she is still in the North Shore area. If you have seen Myah or have any information that might help find her, please contact Police on 105 and reference file number: 250627/9755. Meanwhile, missing teenager Whetu Bennett had been found safe and well after being missing for four days.
RNZ News
29-06-2025
- RNZ News
Missing teen Whetu Bennett found safe six days after vanishing from Auckland mall
Whetu Bennett, 17, seen on CCTV at LynnMall. Photo: Supplied/police A 17-year-old who went missing from a West Auckland mall six days ago has been found safe. Whetu Bennett, was last seen at LynnMall last Tuesday. She had been living with her mother in Morrinsville before moving to Auckland three weeks ago with her 28-year-old boyfriend. A police spokesperson confirmed she had been found safe and well on Monday. The spokesperson did not give any further details on how Whetu was found but said police wanted to thank the public for providing them with information. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
29-06-2025
- RNZ News
Whānau of missing 17-year-old Whetu Bennett 'distraught'
Whetu Bennett at age 14, ready to attend her school ball. The 17-year-old went missing in Auckland six days ago. Photo: Supplied / Police The sister of a missing Waikato 17-year-old says it's out-of-character for Whetu Bennett to run away without keeping in contact with whānau. Janet Jones said she is distraught at her "baby sister's" disappearance from outside an Auckland mall at midday last Tuesday. Whetu grew up in Te Awamutu and had been living with her mother in Morrinsville before moving to Auckland three weeks ago with her 28-year-old boyfriend. Speaking to RNZ from Auckland on Sunday, where the family is gathering to search for Whetu, Jones said the couple had been in a relationship for more than two years. "They were going to start a life up here and they were both looking for work. Their aim was to move up here, get a home and get a job and start a life together." She said the pair were living together in Kelston but on the day Whetu went missing they did not go home together from LynnMall where they'd been shopping. "He's [Whetu's boyfriend] told me... they went out in the morning and around lunchtime they had an argument outside of the mall so he said he has gotten on the bus to go home to take the stuff home and Whetu went a separate way to what he went to, and that was the last time he seen her is when he got on the bus and she walked in a different direction." Whetu's phone broke recently, Jones said, and before she vanished she'd been using her partner's phone to contact whānau. "He's just as distraught as we are. He's been really assistant with me in trying to locate [her]. He's been out there every day walking around the New Lynn mall, catching buses, looking down streets, looking at parks, all of that. "Yesterday he and his son were out there going to the mall, asking if police had been in contact with them for the [CCTV] footage and if they've seen Whetu come back around and showing photos and stuff to shops." Jones said Whetu had been a stepmother to her partner's 7-year-old son, who was staying with his mother when Whetu disappeared. The day after the argument Whetu's partner contacted the teen's mother in Morrinsville to inform her that her daughter was missing. Police were alerted on Wednesday and Jones was contacted by her mother on Thursday morning, she said. Jones said Whetu ran away once to a friend's house for three days but kept in constant contact with whānau and this disappearance was out-of-character. She was concerned that Whetu was reportedly "distressed" at the time she was last seen. At the time Whetu was wearing a beige top, a black dress and sunglasses. Jones understood it was a 30-minute walk home for Whetu from the mall and the teenager also had access to money. "I had asked him [Whetu's partner] if he could check the bank account to see if the money's been used but he can't check it so I said maybe we could pass that onto the police to see if she used her account." Whānau travelled to Auckland to begin their own search and were hopeful of finding Whetu with another sibling in South Auckland, she said. Jones, 37, was the eldest of 10 children and Whetu was number eight - the youngest daughter - and Jones said she helped to raise her. "We're going to have a meeting - a hui - to see what we can do to go forward, as we don't know what to do." She described Whetu as a very creative person. "She was just really bubbly. She loved babies, she loved all her nieces and nephews. She just loved being around family. "We come from a family of Christians so they've all been praying for us and praying for Whetu to come home safe, but because we're on day six now they're getting so worried that they're just coming up to Auckland now because it's been too long." Jones told police about a possible sighting inside the mall at 12.38pm that she was alerted to on social media, but police said Sunday morning there was no update in the case. A spokesperson said police reviewing CCTV footage was one avenue of enquiry. They have appealed for anyone who knows Whetu's whereabouts to contact police on 105.
RNZ News
28-06-2025
- RNZ News
'We just want her home': Missing 17-year-old last seen at mall in Auckland's New Lynn
Police are looking for missing 17-year-old Whetu Bennett, who was last seen at LynnMall in Auckland on Wednesday. Photo: Supplied / Police Police are seeking the public's help to find a 17-year-old girl who was last seen at an Auckland mall. Police said Whetu Bennett hadn't been seen since about 12pm on Wednesday when she was at LynnMall, in the suburb of New Lynn. However, Whetu's sister Janet Jones said her sister was last seen with her partner at Lynnmall on Tuesday around midday. Whetu was wearing a beige top, a black dress and sunglasses on the day she went missing, she said. Jones said Whetu's partner contacted their mother in the early hours of Thursday to tell her that he hadn't seen her since that day. She reported her sister going missing to the police on Thursday as soon as she found out from her mother. Jones said she understood Whetu and her partner had an argument at the mall and her partner had bused home from the mall by himself. She said Whetu moved to Auckland from Hamilton about two or three weeks ago to be with her partner and look for work. She hadn't spoken to Whetu since the move, as Whetu doesn't have a mobile phone, she said. Jones said if Whetu needed to message anyone, it would need to be done through her partner's phone. Jones said it's unusual for Whetu to be missing for so long. "No word from her over this amount of days is wild... at least one of our siblings, we come from a family of ten, one of us would've heard something from her at least. "All her siblings are waiting to hear from her, and we just want her to come home, just to message us and one of us will come and get her wherever she is," she added. A police spokesperson said on Saturday night, Whetu was still missing and police would assess information as it came in. The spokesperson said a family member reported Whetu missing and that the teenager had recently moved to Auckland from Waikato. Police re-posted the appeal three hours ago and asked anybody who knows the whereabouts of Whetu to contact police on 105 and quote the police reference number 250626/5181. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
28-06-2025
- RNZ News
Missing 17-year-old last seen at a mall in Auckland's New Lynn
Police are looking for missing 17-year-old Whetu Bennett, who was last seen at LynnMall in Auckland on Wednesday. Photo: Supplied / Police Police are seeking the public's help to find a 17-year-old girl who was last seen at an Auckland mall. Police said Whetu Bennett hadn't been seen since about 12pm on Wednesday when she was at LynnMall, in the suburb of New Lynn. However, a family member who posted on Facebook said her "baby sister" hadn't been seen since Tuesday. The woman said Whetu was wearing a black dress, beige top and sunglasses. "Her partner has called my mum in Morrinsville to inform her that he hasn't seen her since yesterday," the sister posted on Wednesday morning. "She isn't from Auckland and hasn't got anyone up there she knows. Please share my post. I'm absolutely [heartbroken emoji]. She said Whetu had no phone to call or message her family on. The post had been reposted by a New Zealand Missing Persons page and other family members had friends had also made desperate pleas for Whetu to contact them or go to a police station. A police spokesperson said on Saturday night, Whetu was still missing and police would assess information as it came in. The spokesperson said a family member reported Whetu missing and that the teenager had recently moved to Auckland from Waikato. Police re-posted the appeal three hours ago and asked anybody who knows the whereabouts of Whetu to contact police on 105 and quote the police reference number 250626/5181. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
