The family of a Gisborne man who has been missing since Cyclone Gabrielle are upset with police claims that his disappearance was not cyclone-related.
Joseph Ahuriri鈥檚 family also said they felt he had been portrayed as a criminal by police.
Ahuriri, a 40 year-old father of eight children, has not been seen since Monday February 13, when Cyclone Gabrielle hit the North Island.
He had been visiting whanau in Hawke鈥檚 Bay that day and planned to return home to Gisborne but decided not to because of worsening weather.
He agreed with his partner Clarissa Poi that he should stay at Scenic Hotel Te Pania in Napier until the storm settled. That was the last she heard of him.
Yesterday, police said听, after previously saying he was uncontactable.
Eastern District Commander Superintendent Jeanette Park said police inquiries suggested that it was unlikely that his disappearance was cyclone related, 鈥渁lthough this cannot be fully ruled out鈥.
Mike Ahuriri, Joseph鈥檚 older brother, strongly disagreed with the police鈥檚 finding.
听鈥淭he statement 鈥 it may not be Cyclone Gabrielle-related is bullshit,鈥 he said.
The police statement also included details of five other people considered 鈥渦ncontactable鈥. Of those, police said three of them were facing criminal charges, and two had skipped bail.
- Three 'uncontactable' after Cyclone Gabrielle facing criminal charges
- 'I haven't seen them': Residents hit hard by cyclone fear for friends; 13 still uncontactable
Although police said Joseph Ahuriri was 鈥渋n addition to鈥 this group, Mike Ahuriri said the family felt he had been grouped in with these people.
鈥淭he family all felt that [police] thought she was a criminal. Mum went nuts about it - she wasn鈥檛 happy about it.
鈥淲e know he鈥檚 not a criminal.鈥
He added: 鈥淗e鈥檚 a loving father, a loving brother, loves his kids.鈥
At a press conference today, Park reiterated that police did not believe that the cyclone 鈥渨as part of his disappearance鈥, while adding that 鈥渨e can鈥檛 discount that鈥.
鈥淚 know for his family it鈥檚 extremely stressful and it鈥檚 a really hard time for them,鈥 she said.
鈥淪o if anyone has any information in relation to Joseph, please come forward.鈥
A police spokesperson did not directly answer questions about why police believed Ahuriri鈥檚 disappearance was not linked to the devastating weather event.
It is understood that all staff at Scenic Motel Te Pania, where Ahuriri was last seen, have been interviewed by police.
Mike Ahuriri said he was arriving in Napier tomorrow to resume the search for his brother, with the assistance of friends and family. He did not know where to start, he said, but would be looking for the ute Joseph was driving.
鈥淲hat gets me is where is his truck? His truck just can鈥檛 disappear like that. I can understand if it turned up in a flood somewhere, but we鈥檝e had family and people looking everywhere and they still can鈥檛 find it.鈥
Gisborne woman Clarissa Poi and her partner Joseph Ahuriri, who has been missing for 15 days. Poi said she was waiting by the phone for news of her partner, a father of eight.
Speaking to the听Herald听last week,听听she was waiting by the phone for a call or text from Joseph or police: 鈥淢y heart breaks every minute that passes鈥.
She added: 鈥淚 have to return home to our kids who are just as worried and I can鈥檛 bear to look at them and say I didn鈥檛 find daddy.鈥
At the press conference, Park said the number of uncontactable people after Cyclone Gabrielle had fallen from five yesterday to three.
鈥淥ur teams are lifting every rock, nothing is left unturned and we are looking to locate people and get them back to their loved ones.鈥
In all, Cyclone Gabrielle led to the deaths of nine people across Hawke鈥檚 Bay and Tair膩whiti and two firefighters in Muriwai, West Auckland.
听
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