Jasmin Gray has the most terrible thoughts about her missing daughter.

Thoughts of what was done to her, where and how her body was dumped and the likely pain, suffering, terror and loneliness of her last moments.

Gray’s daughter Breanna Muriwai disappeared from Te Horo Beach on the Kapiti Coast in the early hours of August 28, 2022.

She is one of hundreds of Kiwis reported missing every year. While most are found within hours or days, some families are left completely in the dark about what has happened to their loved ones.

“We’re in a constant state of limbo,” Gray told the Herald.

“When it first happens, you go into an instant state of shock ... then it gets harder.

“You’re constantly trying to process everything ... you go through grief, you have no sense of time, it’s physically, mentally and emotionally very exhausting.

“The hardest part is not knowing ... the unknown, the multiple scenarios that go through your head about what could have happened to her. Actually seeing a scenario in your head ... that’s what’s really hard.”

In the beginning, Gray thought about her daughter “constantly”.

But with younger children at home to care for, she had to push the situation out of her head so she could provide “a bit of normalcy” for the rest of the family.

“The guilt is still there. You try and get on with things but the guilt pulls you back, you feel like you should always be out there searching but you can’t.”

Jasmin Gray holds a photograph of her daughter Breanna Muriwai. Photo / Woman's Day

False hope was also hard to cope with.

Whenever police called, whenever a body was found, she desperately hoped for answers.

But to date, they have not come.

“To be able to carry on is a struggle. Breanna’s siblings even feel guilty for just being able to be themselves, being able to live their lives.

“It affects all of us in different ways, it comes in waves.”

Gray said she had accepted her daughter was not coming home alive.

But she wanted her home. “That is my only priority – I just want her location.

“By sharing our loss, by keeping her in the news, it helps us as a family ... it gives us hope.”

Lost - New Zealand’s missing people

While mystery surrounds their whereabouts and what happened to them, one thing is certain for every person who has gone missing in New Zealand.

They are much-loved mums, dads, siblings, aunties, uncles – they are people’s partners, children and friends.

Their disappearances have caused heartache for their loved ones: the people who never stop searching and hoping for answers.

This list includes those from the official police missing persons list and known high-profile cases. In some cases, little information is available about the missing person other than their name, photo and when they were last seen.

Other cases are high-profile either due to families appealing, police offering rewards or the bizarre circumstances of the case.

If you have any information about any of these people, please contact police immediately.

2023

Stewart Willis, 63, Christchurch

Stewart Willis was last reported to have been sighted at his home on Colombo St, in the city’s central suburb of St Albans, on July 24 last year.

He had lived there for nearly 10 years.

About a month before his disappearance, one neighbour said he’d noticed Willis acting differently: he didn’t want to talk and seemed “distracted”.

Around the same time, a white sign was allegedly hung on his front door with the word “Farm” written on it.

Stewart Willis has not been seen since July 24 last year. Photo / NZ Police

Stephen James Ryan, 40, Manawatū

Stephen Ryan was last seen on the evening of March 28 after being dropped off at an address in Feilding.

Have you seen Stephen Ryan?

Joesph Ahuriri, 40, Napier

Joseph Ahuriri was last seen on a dark and wet morning in Napier on February 14, as Cyclone Gabrielle lashed the region.

CCTV footage of Ahuriri getting out of his vehicle at a service station is the last known sighting of the father of eight, who has links to the Gisborne-based chapter of Black Power.

Gisborne man Joseph Ahuriri has been missing since the day Cyclone Gabrielle struck, on February 14.

2022

Michael (Grant) Freer, 56, Wairarapa

Michael Freer, also known as Grant, has not been seen since November 19, 2022.

His vehicle was found three days later in the car park at the end of Norfolk Rd leading into thick bush around Donnelly Flats, Mt Holdsworth.

Michael Freer, also known as Grant. Photo / Supplied

Breanna Muriwai, 22, Te Horo Beach

Breanna Muriwai was reportedly last seen running off into the darkness at Te Horo Beach, on the Kāpiti Coast, on August 28, 2022.

Despite an extensive investigation and tireless searches by Muriwai’s loved ones, she has not been seen since.

Police interviewed two men she was with the night she died, but ended up with more questions than answers.

Breanna Muriwai's family describe her as outgoing and vibrant. Photo / Supplied

John William Mills, 52, Auckland

John Mills has not been seen since June 26, 2022. His car, a blue Nissan Pulsar with the registration YD4731, was last seen in the Waikato area.

His sister reported him missing after he did not make contact for two weeks. She described a strange phone call in which he said his tyres had been slashed.

A year after his disappearance, his eftpos card was used by someone else at a Hamilton petrol station.

Police are still investigating.

Missing Auckland man John Mills. Photo / NZ Police

David Phillip Holland, 31, Papamoa

David Holland was last seen at his Pāpāmoa Beach home on March 11, 2022.

Alarm bells sounded when he failed to turn up for work at Tauranga Hospital and a missing person inquiry began.

Holland was initially believed to have gone for a swim at the beach near the end of Pacific View Rd.

However, police later discovered CCTV footage of a man walking alone towards State Highway 29A about 8pm on the night he disappeared. Holland’s family believe he is the man in the footage.

Tauranga Hospital anaesthetist David Holland was reported missing after failing to turn up for work. Photo / NZME

2020

Adrianus Berkhout, 61, Whangārei

Adrianus Berkhout’s vehicle was found in a gravel pit next to Tangiteroria Bridge, on State Highway 14 between Whangārei and Dargaville on July 8, 2020.

A massive search was carried out for the volunteer firefighter but there has been no sign of him.

Police are keen to hear from anyone who has seen missing Dargaville man Adrianus Berkhout. Photo / Supplied

Eloi Rolland, 18, Birkenhead

Eloi Rolland came to Auckland as part of a student exchange programme in September.

The French teenager was staying with a host family in Birkenhead, on Auckland’s North Shore, and failed to return home on March 6, 2020.

Police later confirmed the last sighting of him was the next morning as he left a West Auckland train station.

Cellphone data later placed him in the area of Piha Rd at 9.18am. He has not been seen since.

Eloi Rolland came to New Zealand in 2019 to learn English. Six months later he vanished without trace in the Piha area, West Auckland. Photo / Supplied

Julian Varley, 31, Tauranga

The last confirmed sighting of Julian Varley was about 3pm on January 23, 2020, when he was seen on CCTV driving his blue and silver 1998 Nissan Pulsar at the Poike roundabout on State Highway 29A in Tauranga.

About 1am on January 24, a passerby found Varley’s car on fire on Oropi Rd near State Highway 36. The car was destroyed.

Police later revealed that bullet holes were found in it.

Varley has not accessed his bank account or used his cellphone since the day he was last seen and he has had no contact with family, including his two young children, or friends.

The day after Julian Varley disappeared, his car was found on fire. Police later revealed it had bullet holes in it.

2019

Michael Murdoch, 44, Ngāruawāhia

Michael Murdoch was reported missing on September 26, 2019. He was last seen on CCTV footage from Waitomo Wills service station in Ngāruawāhia at 7.41am.

In May 2020, police confirmed they had found evidence that his phone connected to a cellphone tower at 6.08am in the Horitiu area two days after he was last seen.

The phone also pinged off towers in the Te Puroa Rd area in Ngāruawāhia, between midnight and 5am that morning.

Missing man Michael Murdoch, of Ngāruawāhia. Photo / NZ Police

Joseph Webb, 24, Whakatāne

Joseph Webb was last seen on July 23, 2019, at Kohi Point, a scenic walking track in Whakatāne.

His mother positively identified pieces of clothing found on the beach but believed they had been placed there by walkers who had found them somewhere in the bush.

She said Webb had dealt with bouts of depression and she suspected he may have gone into the bush in an effort to get himself better.

Joseph Webb was last seen on July 23, 2019, at Kohi Point, Whakatāne, on July 23, 2019.

Jessica Boyce, 27, Renwick

Jessica Boyce was last seen in the Marlborough town of Renwick on March 19, 2019, driving her mother’s red Holden Rodeo ute.

The vehicle was found three days later at the Lake Chalice car park in the Richmond Range.

Police initially thought Boyce was a missing person but upgraded her case to a homicide in October 2020.

They believe her car was left in the car park to make it look like she had disappeared.

The investigation is ongoing.

The disappearance of Jessica Boyce in March 2019 has since been upgraded to a homicide case.

2018

Isaac Peratiaki, 54, Whanganui

Isaac Peratiaki was last seen in Whanganui on May 17, 2018.

Isaac Peratiaki has not been since May 17, 2018. Photo / NZ Police

Christopher Bates, 22, Alexandra

Christopher Bates told his father he was heading off to meet a friend and go for a swim on February 11, 2018. He bought some cigarettes from a petrol station and was not seen or heard from again.

In 2023, Coroner Heather McKenzie ruled Bates had died soon after he went missing, but that the circumstances of his death remained a complete mystery.

The disappearance of Christopher Bates in 2018 remained a complete mystery, a coroner ruled in 2023.

Theresa Urlich, 45, Kaitāia

Theresa Urlich has not been seen since February 4, 2018, when she hitchhiked to her cousin’s house in Kaeo, showered, changed her clothes, had something to eat and left, heading south.

That was the last her family saw or heard from her.

Kaitāia woman Theresa Urlich has been missing for more than six years.

Leonie Emery, 26, Auckland

Leonie Emery, a mother of five, was last seen in Ngāruawāhia on January 26, 2018, three weeks after her last contact with her family in Auckland.

She was not reported missing until February 2019 as she moved around frequently.

Leonie Emery, a mother of five, was last seen in January 2018.

2017

Karl Roberts, 31, Taranaki

On August 1, 2017, Karl Roberts’ vehicle was found down a bank on Uruti Rd, east of New Plymouth.

Police believe Roberts lost control of the car before it slid off the road and down the bank, stopping near a stream.

His sandshoes were found stuck in mud on the other side of the stream, about three kilometres from his car.

Karl Roberts, 31, has been missing since August 2017 after his green Subaru Impreza was found crashed next to Uruti Rd in Taranaki.

Athol Turner, 60, Nelson

Athol Turner was discharged from Nelson Hospital at 3.30pm on July 11, 2017.

His bank card was used the next night, at McDonald’s. Since then there has been no sign.

His family believe he was killed and buried somewhere but police have found no evidence of foul play.

Athol Turner has not been seen since July 2017.

2016

Yuri Santana, 17, Clandeboye

On October 4, 2016, Yuri Santana left his family home and went for a walk in the Temuka area of South Canterbury.

He has not been seen since.

The teenager did not have a cellphone or bank cards on him.

Police said there had been a sighting in Temuka but, as he did not have a car or bike, he would have needed a lift to have got there.

Yuri Santana went for a walk in October 2016 and has not been seen since.

Richard Hinkley, 49, Christchurch

A neighbour reported Richard Hinkley missing in February 2016.

Inquiries quickly revealed he had not been seen since December 23 the previous year. The last known conversation anyone had with him was when an uncle called on Christmas morning.

After that, he simply vanished.

A $20,000 reward for information was offered in 2022.

Richard Hinkley loved everything about Japan and learned the language. Photo / TVNZ

2015

Denise Maria Potter, 53, Dunedin

Denise Potter has not been seen since she went missing from the garden of her daughter’s Dunedin home on March 30, 2015.

Searches involving police and hundreds of volunteers failed to find any trace of her. She has not used her cellphone or bank cards and there have been no leads since.

Denise Potter has been missing since 2015. Photo / NZ Police

John and Mike Beckenridge, Invercargill

Swedish-born helicopter pilot John Beckenridge broke a court order by collecting his 11-year-old stepson Mike from his school in Invercargill on March 13, 2015.

Their car was found at the bottom of a cliff in Curio Bay, Southland, but their bodies were never found.

There has been speculation that they may have faked their deaths and gone on the run.

An inquest was held last year to establish whether the missing pair are dead. A decision is yet to be released.

John and Mike Beckenridge disappeared on March 13, 2015, and have not been seen since.

2014

Tupulaga (Peter) Talalelei, 70, Hutt Valley

Tupulaga Talalelei, also known as Peter, was last seen in the kitchen of the boarding house where he lived on July 13, 2014, the day after a taxi camera recorded him coming back from Hutt Hospital.

After that, the boarding house manager said, “He just evaporated.”

Tupulaga Talalelei, aka Peter, has not been seen since July 2014.

William Kerry Blair, 55, Marlborough Sounds

William Kerry Blair was last seen at Christchurch businessman Alasdair Cassels’ idyllic, remote, 169-hectare Erie Bay property in the Marlborough Sounds, where he worked as an engineer and skipper.

He set off on a nine-metre aluminium boat in March 2014 to get food. The boat was found drifting nine days later but Blair has never been seen again.

During a coronial inquest, his family accused Cassels and convicted fraudster Mike Swann of being involved in the disappearance.

Both men vehemently denied the allegations. Cassels died in 2022.

Neither Coroner Marcus Elliott nor police found any evidence to support the family’s suspicions.

William Kerry Blair (centre) disappeared in the Marlborough Sounds in March 2014.

Christian Ulf Prehn,19, Nelson Lakes National Park

German tourist Christian Prehn disappeared while tramping.

He was last seen by two trampers on February 25, 2014, after spending the night at Upper Travers Hut.

His backpack was found several days later by a Department of Conservation worker. Several searches in the area, including one last year, have failed to find his body.

Christian Prehn, a German tourist, was 19 when he was last seen, in Nelson Lakes in 2014. Photo / Facebook

2011

Rene Weisswange, 25, Lake Hāwea

Rene Weisswange, from Germany, has not been heard from since he left for a fishing and kayaking trip on Lake Hāwea, near Wānaka, on August 28, 2011. Police believe he was not wearing a lifejacket.

2010

Troy Liddington, 37, Kaipara

Father-of-four Troy Liddington left a house near Waipoua visitor’s centre on October 1, 2010, saying he was going for a walk.

The alarm was raised when the Hawke’s Bay man had not returned two days later.

Although he is known to have strong survival skills, he carried no food and little clothing. The only equipment he took was a cigarette lighter.

The mystery deepened a week later when clothing similar to that he was last seen in was found placed neatly on a riverbank in an area that had been searched several times.

Troy Liddington went for a walk on October 1, 2010, and has not been seen since.

2009

Gafatasi Samuelu, 37, Auckland

Gafatasi Samuelu is also known by the names Gafa Samuelu and Tasi Samuelu.

He was last seen at Lifewise Mission in Airedale St, Auckland, on October 2, 2009, and was known to frequent the areas of Grafton Bridge, Auckland Domain and missions within Auckland City.

Gafatasi Samuelu was last seen in Auckland on October 2, 2009.

2008

Matthew Alexander Hamill, 59, Queenstown

Matthew Hamill, originally from Northern Ireland, was last seen in Frankton, Queenstown, on October 29, 2008.

His car was found the next day at the Roaring Meg car park on State Highway 6.

Some of his belongings, including a cellphone and sunglasses, were also found at the lookout.

Matthew Hamill has not been seen since October 29, 2008. Photo / NZ Police

2007

William Taikato, 40, and Darrell Crawford, 35, Tauranga

Darrell Crawford was last seen leaving his house in Oropi, 20 kilometres south of Tauranga, on August 12, 2007.

His car was found in Tauranga a few days later, but there has been no sign of him since.

William Taikato was last seen in Papamoa on December 19, 2007. His disappearance was reported to police as family and associates had not seen or heard from him for some time and he had not followed through with plans for Christmas.

The father of two told associates he was going to pick up his car in Welcome Bay Rd, Tauranga, and was never seen again.

In 2008, police said they were treating both cases as homicides, despite finding no bodies.

In September that year, a man was charged with murdering Crawford on the day he was last seen.

He and two others were also charged with murdering Taikato on the day of his disappearance.

The three men were eventually acquitted.

William Taikato (left) and Darrell James Crawford both disappeared in 2007. Three men were charged with their murders and later acquitted.

2004

Jim Donnelly, 43, Auckland

Jim Donelly, father of two, was a scientist working at the Glenbrook steel mill, southwest of Auckland.

One morning in June 2004, he left the home he shared with his wife and kids and went to work.

He stopped for petrol and bought a muffin with his fuel. At work, he parked, signed in and went to his office, placing the muffin on his desk.

He changed into his work uniform.

And that’s when the trail stops.

Five days later, his hard hat was found beside an acid vat inside the mill.

The vat was drained and his work ID card was found inside, along with his PalmPilot, safety glasses, credit card, cash and work key.

Extensive investigations have failed to establish what happened to him.

Jim Donnelly arrived for work at Glenbrook steel mill in June 2004 and has not been seen since.

2003

Trevor (Wayne) Henderson, 50, Onewhero

Trevor Henderson, known as Wayne, has not been seen since the weekend of August 30-31, 2003.

Police said Henderson led “a colourful life”, mixing with people much younger than himself.

At the time he went missing from Onewhero, in Waikato, his right leg was in a moon boot.

Trevor Henderson was last seen at the end of August, 2003.

1992

Judith (Judy) Yorke, 25, Tauranga

Judy Yorke dropped her toddler with her parents on October 20, 1992, and said she was heading to Mount Maunganui for some drinks.

She was expected to return the next day but never came home.

The last reported sighting of her was in a Matapihi orchard packing shed sometime between 1am and 2.30am on October 21.

Her muddied black shoes were found in the orchard two days after she vanished.

Judith Yorke has been missing since October 20, 1992.

Amber-Lee Cruickshank, 2, Kingston

Amber-Lee Cruickshank was visiting Kingston with her mother, stepfather and baby brother on October 17, 1992, when she vanished.

After an afternoon by the lake and a barbecue, the toddler disappeared and, despite exhaustive land and water searches, there has been no sign of her in three decades.

Police are certain she is not in the lake and have not ruled out foul play.

In 2022, police offered a $100,000 reward for information or evidence leading to the identity and conviction of anyone responsible for her disappearance.

Amber-Lee Cruickshank went missing at Lake Wakatipu in 1992.

1989

Peter Douglas Coop, 28, Dunedin

Peter Coop, an Auckland doctor, vanished in Dunedin on June 4, 1989. He travelled south to attend a course but never showed up.

He checked into a hostel and called his wife of seven months. It would be the last time she spoke to him.

While his family believe he may have died after an accident while tramping in the bush, police believe he staged his disappearance.

Peter Coop, an Auckland doctor, went missing in 1989, aged 28.

1988

Joanne “Joe” Chatfield, 17, Auckland

Joe Chatfield disappeared on her way home from a concert at the Auckland University Student Union with friends on November 1, 1998.

Her friends saw her for the last time walking away on Princes St, in the direction of Wellesley St.

She never made it home.

In 1999, and again in 2018, police offered $50,000 rewards for anyone who could provide solid evidence leading to the identity and conviction of the person or people responsible for Joe’s disappearance or death.

Joe Chatfield disappeared in Auckland in 1988.

1987

Michael Luton, 46, Auckland

Michael Luton was last seen leaving his home in Henderson, Auckland, about 2pm on March 6, 1987, and has not been seen since.

Michael Luton has not been seen since March 1987.

1986

Luana Williams, 25, Tauranga

Known by family as Laverne, Luana Williams was last seen on the evening of June 5, 1986, at her home in Munro St, Tauranga, and was reported missing by her partner, Stephen Prole.

Police offered rewards of $20,000 in 1994 and $50,000 in 2013 but the case remains unsolved.

Luana Williams, known as Laverne, was reported missing in June 1986.

1983

Kirsa Jensen, 14, Napier

Schoolgirl Kirsa Jensen was last seen alive, with her horse Commodore, near a gun emplacement north of what is now the Waitangi Reserve at Awatoto, Napier, on the afternoon of September 1, 1983.

Commodore was found waiting at the scene for the girl who never came back.

Kirsa Jensen was 14 when she disappeared from the foreshore at Awatoto, Napier, during an afternoon horse ride on September 1, 1983.

1980

Ian Roy Baker, 20, Auckland

Ian Baker was last seen in the Waitematā area of Auckland on November 16, 1980.

Ian Baker has been missing since 1980.

1978

Michael John Dudley, 20, Dunedin

Michael Dudley, a TV repairman, finished work on April 3, 1978, and enjoyed a few beers with his colleagues.

After saying his farewells, he hopped into his van, with “Bell TV” splashed across the side, and drove away.

Neither he nor his van have been seen since.

Michael Dudley went missing on April 3, 1978. Photo / NZ Police

1957

Peter Boland, 9, Ōpōtiki

Peter Boland disappeared from a farm near Ōpōtiki in August 1957 while he was on holiday.

Police failed to find any evidence relating to his disappearance in the initial investigation.

More than 60 years later, police investigated again and referred the matter to the coroner. An inquest determined there was insufficient evidence to determine the cause of death but declared Peter officially deceased.

Peter Boland went missing in 1957.

Can you help?

If you have information on any of the missing people listed in this story, please contact police on the non-emergency number 105, or click here to pass on the details via an online form.

You can also report information anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Click here for the online reporting service.

Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz