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Show Credits
Original Concept
Inspired by the books Without Trace: On the Trail of New Zealand Missing Persons and Still Missing written by Scott Bainbridge
Series One
Directors
Peter Bell
Mary Durham
Dan Henry
Kim Webby
Les Dawson
Justin Pemberton
Jill Graham
Visual Director
Rupert Mackenzie
Legal Advisor
Karen Soich
Production Accountant
Kathy Christopher
Production Co-ordinator
Kate Moses
Production Assistant
Roslyn Lusty
Researchers
Scott Bainbridge
Melanie Jones
Victoria Girling-Butcher
Hannah Sperber
Titles & Graphics
Afterglow
Music Composition
Big Pop Music
Sound Post-Production
Luke Berryman
Big Pop Music
Narrator
Dan Henry
Online Editor
Keith Mclean
Editors
Geoff Conway
Malcolm Clark
Christine Munro
Irena Doll
Margaret Kelly
Line Producer
Carolyn Harper
Associate Producer
Melanie Jones
Network Executive
Jude Callen
Executive Producer
Philly de Lacey
Series Two
Directors
Peter Bell
Mary Durham
Ross Peebles
Tom Reilly
Rupert Mackenzie
Legal Advisor
Karen Soich
Production Accountant
Kathy Christopher
Production Manager
Kate Moses
Researchers
Scott Bainbridge
Dianne Lindesay
Titles & Graphics
Afterglow
Music Composition
Big Pop Music
Sound Post-Production
Nigel Foster
Sale Street Studios
Narrator
Dan Henry
Online Editor
Keith Mclean
Editors
Lisa Hough
Margaret Kelly
Roger Yeaxlee
Alex Beshe
Writer
Roger Yeaxlee
Producer
Carolyn Harper
Network Executive
Jude Callen
Executive Producer
Philly de Lacey
Show Gallery
The Missing
The Missing
"Using up to date and new scientific technology, investigative techniques and experts, The Missing explores some of New Zealand’s unsolved missing person cases and attempts to bring closure to the families whose loved ones have seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth.”
PUBLICITY
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/entertainment/tv-reviews/2602963/The-Missing
http://www.rotoruadailypost.co.nz/local/news/calls-in-cold-case-hearten-family/3901976/
http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/local/news/mystery-of-missing-tax-man/3902199/
http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3669/tvradio/16083/
desperately_seeking_ron_jorgensen.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/4244425/What-happened-to-Lionel-Russell
Check out The Missing on Facebook!
Episode Summaries
Series 1
Episode 1 - Craig Hampton
Monday 6 July 2009
It was Wellington anniversary weekend 1999. Life was looking good for Craig Hampton: he was happily married with a new son he doted on and an old mate was back in town wanting to catch up for a spot of surfing, or to perhaps dive for a few crays. With boards on the car roof and dive gear in the boot, Craig left home early. But instead of picking up his friend, he headed to a dodgy part of town. Was that why he never returned home? Or did the reason for his disappearance have its roots in Craig’s childhood?
He’d planned a surfing trip for the long weekend. But did the reason Craig Hampton
He’d planned a surfing trip for the long weekend. But did the reason Craig Hampton
Episode 2 - Connan Bolitho
Monday 13 July 2009
Connan Bolitho was a fit, enthusiastic 21 year old and a member of the NZ Alpine club when he went missing on a solo month-long tramp in the Arthurs Pass region 18 years ago. The tramp was part of a significant training regime he had set himself to prepare to represent NZ at an international mountaineering event in the Himalayas later in 1991. Five days into his trip, Connan left a log-book entry at Harman hut outlining his intended route to Crawford Hut – something an outdoorsman of his experience should have been able to accomplish easily in a day. Despite extensive searches by police, search and rescue and members of his Tararua tramping club, Connan has not been found.
Connan Bolitho was training to represent NZ at an international mountaineering event in the Himalayas. So how did he go missing on what should have been a day’s excursion for the fit, hugely experienced tramper?
Connan Bolitho was training to represent NZ at an international mountaineering event in the Himalayas. So how did he go missing on what should have been a day’s excursion for the fit, hugely experienced tramper?
Episode 3 - Lance Kapua
Monday 20 July 2009
Lance Kapua was last seen in the early hours of the morning of his 31st birthday in downtown Rotorua. A brilliant student, who had at one stage considered entering the priesthood, Lance had become ill with schizophrenia and returned to his hometown to be closer to his family. He went out to have a few drinks with mates and didn't come home. In stark contrast to the two Swedish tourists who went missing around the same time, there was little publicity and there were few official searches for Lance, much to the family's frustration. Is his body in a thermal pool in Rotorua's Kuirau Park or did he end up, as his mother believed, in a commune on the west coast of the South Island?
Episode 4 - Cessna
Monday 27 July 2009
Thirty years ago a Cessna 180 piloted by a Southland parish priest took off from Big Bay in Fiordland to return to Riversdale. The passengers were 3 men from Riversdale who'd been with him on a hunting and fishing trip in August 1978. Despite more than 550 hours of aerial searches over 250,000 square miles in often atrocious conditions, no trace of the aircraft has been found. Many of those involved in the original search knew the missing men personally, and the failure to find ZK-BMP is still on their minds decades later. Now the families, who for years coped with southern stoicism, believe they have a clue that will help them to find their missing husband, father and brother.
Episode 5 - Patrick Fisk
Tuesday 4 August 2009
Sydney Patrick Fisk, known to his family as Pat, was an adventurous Englishman who had served in India in the Punjab Police force. On returning to England, he was bored. When he found it could take months to become a 10 pound immigrant to NZ, he bought a yacht, taught himself to sail it in 10 days and then packed up his young family and sailed here. He was working as a tax inspector in the Tauranga, Murupara area when he disappeared on a routine work trip. His government issue Vauxhall car was found in a remote location in Urawera country, known to locals as The Summit. The car door was open, his Thermos of tea was there with a cup poured two thirds full, his suitcase, tax files and briefcase were intact. Was he murdered as his family believes or did he simply tire of family life and decide to "ring-bolt" to Australia?
Pat Fisk was an adventurer, a daredevil who’d never baulk at a challenge. But then a routine day working as “the tax-man” ended in one of NZ’s most enduring mysteries. Murder? Or did he simply tire of family life?
Pat Fisk was an adventurer, a daredevil who’d never baulk at a challenge. But then a routine day working as “the tax-man” ended in one of NZ’s most enduring mysteries. Murder? Or did he simply tire of family life?
Episode 6 - Peter Chaffe
Monday 10 August 2009
Peter Chaffe wasn't feeling well the day he was last seen in July 1974. He'd been diagnosed as a diabetic 18 months earlier and had uncharacteristically lost his lunchtime squash game that day against a workmate from Auckland University's chemistry department. After work he drove a friend home to Avondale and, after stopping for a drink and crackers, left to drive to his own home in Massey, West Auckland. Although his friend worried Chaffe was too ill to drive, Chaffe insisted. As he pointed out, his friend's home was only a stone's throw from the north western motorway route he normally took home. But although a search was mounted for Peter Chaffe within an hour of his leaving Avondale, neither he nor his unusual bright red Simca car has been seen again.
It was just a routine half hour drive home for Aucklander Peter Chaffe. But neither he nor his bright red Simca car has been seen in the decades since.
It was just a routine half hour drive home for Aucklander Peter Chaffe. But neither he nor his bright red Simca car has been seen in the decades since.
Episode 7 - Marion Granville
Monday 17 August 2009
Everyone who knew Marion Granville agreed she was a great mum. So when she did not return from a quick trip to the dairy one Sunday morning, foul play was quickly suspected. Her friends and family believed Marion, a tall, attractive, outgoing woman, would never have abandoned her adored children – a son and pre-school twin daughters. She was last seen being escorted into a white car by three men. Since Marion was facing minor drug charges, they could have been plain clothes police. But as she has not been seen again, it’s likely they had links to the drugs underworld.
A doting mum takes a quick trip to the dairy leaving her children home alone. Nearly 30 years later, her family are still waiting for Marion Granville to turn up.
A doting mum takes a quick trip to the dairy leaving her children home alone. Nearly 30 years later, her family are still waiting for Marion Granville to turn up.
Episode 8 - Dr Elizabeth Batham
Monday 31 August 2009
Dr Elizabeth Batham
Dr Elizabeth Batham was a trailblazer in New Zealand marine science. A brilliant scholar, she won scholarships both here and at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom where the professor described her as one of his most talented students. Dr Batham returned to NZ to establish the Portobello marine research facility attached to Otago Universiy and later became its director. Two species - a ribbon worm and a type of spider crab - have been named after her, as is the library at Portobello. In early 1974 she returned to Wellington where she spent time on the local beaches fossicking for specimens, which she often carried in her handbag. On the day she disappeared her unlocked car was found at Seatoun beach, with her wallet intact and her dry diving gear in the boot. Her dry bathing suit and cap, her shoes and her coat were found further down the beach. Police investigated whether Batham, who was also a keen botanist, had gone looking for specimen in the surrounding countryside and met an accident. She has never been found.
Dr Elizabeth Batham was a trailblazer in New Zealand marine science. But was the disappearance of this brilliant scholar really an accident?
Dr Elizabeth Batham was a trailblazer in New Zealand marine science. A brilliant scholar, she won scholarships both here and at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom where the professor described her as one of his most talented students. Dr Batham returned to NZ to establish the Portobello marine research facility attached to Otago Universiy and later became its director. Two species - a ribbon worm and a type of spider crab - have been named after her, as is the library at Portobello. In early 1974 she returned to Wellington where she spent time on the local beaches fossicking for specimens, which she often carried in her handbag. On the day she disappeared her unlocked car was found at Seatoun beach, with her wallet intact and her dry diving gear in the boot. Her dry bathing suit and cap, her shoes and her coat were found further down the beach. Police investigated whether Batham, who was also a keen botanist, had gone looking for specimen in the surrounding countryside and met an accident. She has never been found.
Dr Elizabeth Batham was a trailblazer in New Zealand marine science. But was the disappearance of this brilliant scholar really an accident?
Series 2
Episode 1 - Ron Jorgensen
Tuesday 7 September 2010
Episode One re-explores the case of Ron Jorgensen, a notorious criminal famous for his role in the Bassett Rd machine gun murders, whose body vanished after his car was found at the bottom of a cliff in Kaikoura in 1984. When no body was found in the wreck, it became clear that Ron Jorgensen, had disappeared... but where?
Episode 2 - June Sowerby
Tuesday 14 September 2010
It was a case that shocked a tiny community and baffled police. On Christmas Eve 2003, June Sowerby was holidaying in Turangi, but while walking the 600 metres home to her timeshare accommodation, she simply disappeared. Now seven years later, 'The Missing' re-investigates June's mysterious disappearance.
Episode 3 - John Buxton
Tuesday 21 September 2010
Late afternoon on Friday 1st June 1984 John Buxton took his trailer-sailer out for a sail on Lyttleton Harbour.
The next morning the boat was found drifting abandoned on the other side of the Harbour. There was some half eaten food and the sails were still up; but John Buxton was not on board. Like the Mary Celeste, everything was normal except that there was not a soul on board.
John Buxton was a journalist by profession but also ran a small concrete business. It appeared from letters that he had recently written that he may have taken his life and his ex-wife, employees and friends say that he was an eccentric and colourful character who had massive mood swings.
However, there were some unusual features around John’s disappearance that raise questions about the suicide theory. He had recently got a new job in Wellington and seemed to be in good spirits. John was also seen with a large amount of cash on him the day he went missing; John had recently changed his appearance a month before, and one of his most prized possessions, his typewriter was missing.
Could the abandoned boat have been a ruse before John headed off to create a new life for himself?
The next morning the boat was found drifting abandoned on the other side of the Harbour. There was some half eaten food and the sails were still up; but John Buxton was not on board. Like the Mary Celeste, everything was normal except that there was not a soul on board.
John Buxton was a journalist by profession but also ran a small concrete business. It appeared from letters that he had recently written that he may have taken his life and his ex-wife, employees and friends say that he was an eccentric and colourful character who had massive mood swings.
However, there were some unusual features around John’s disappearance that raise questions about the suicide theory. He had recently got a new job in Wellington and seemed to be in good spirits. John was also seen with a large amount of cash on him the day he went missing; John had recently changed his appearance a month before, and one of his most prized possessions, his typewriter was missing.
Could the abandoned boat have been a ruse before John headed off to create a new life for himself?
Episode 4 - Turner Family
Tuesday 28 September 2010
On July 30th 1983, Roy Turner took off from Tekapo in a Cessna 172 with his wife and two young children on board. They were bound for Fox Glacier but never made it.
At the time, the search covered 6000 square miles and remains one of the largest in New Zealand history.
Over the ensuing years, hunters have spotted wreckage which search and rescue experts believe may belong to the Turner wreck.
We talk to the hunters and go searching on foot and by chopper to try and recover what they found. And we discover a possible new clue which washed up on a West Coast Beach around the time of the crash.
At the time, the search covered 6000 square miles and remains one of the largest in New Zealand history.
Over the ensuing years, hunters have spotted wreckage which search and rescue experts believe may belong to the Turner wreck.
We talk to the hunters and go searching on foot and by chopper to try and recover what they found. And we discover a possible new clue which washed up on a West Coast Beach around the time of the crash.
Episode 5 - Peter Coop
Tuesday 5 October 2010
In 1989, it appeared 28-year-old Aucklander Peter Coop had the world at his feet. A qualified doctor, he was happily married and about to head to Dunedin to start an opthamology course.
On the Monday of Queen’s Birthday weekend he flew south but when lectures started the following day, there was no sign of Peter.
The case was soon to get stranger. On Tuesday afternoon, a colleague reported she’d seen Peter at Invercargill airport. Then in 2003, his mother claimed to have seen Peter in Nelson.
To this day, no one knows for sure if Peter is still alive and living under an assumed identity. However "The Missing" has uncovered new clues which may solve the 21 year old mystery.
On the Monday of Queen’s Birthday weekend he flew south but when lectures started the following day, there was no sign of Peter.
The case was soon to get stranger. On Tuesday afternoon, a colleague reported she’d seen Peter at Invercargill airport. Then in 2003, his mother claimed to have seen Peter in Nelson.
To this day, no one knows for sure if Peter is still alive and living under an assumed identity. However "The Missing" has uncovered new clues which may solve the 21 year old mystery.
Episode 6 - John Isinger
Tuesday 12 October 2010
On a sunny Saturday in February 1998, John Isinger went out for his regular walk around beautiful Kaiteriter and never returned.
Hundreds of volunteers began searching that night. Police, locals and holidaymakers scoured the area throughout the following day.
The only trace of Johnny was his plaid cap, at the side of a walking track, high up in the forest.
The last sighting of Johnny was on a main road suggesting something more sinister might have happened but Johnny Isinger’s disappearance is as much a mystery as the man himself.
Hundreds of volunteers began searching that night. Police, locals and holidaymakers scoured the area throughout the following day.
The only trace of Johnny was his plaid cap, at the side of a walking track, high up in the forest.
The last sighting of Johnny was on a main road suggesting something more sinister might have happened but Johnny Isinger’s disappearance is as much a mystery as the man himself.
Episode 7 - Lionel Russell
Tuesday 19 October 2010
In 1975 Lionel Russell and three companions went into the Central North Island bush. Lionel mysteriously vanished - and has never been seen since. That summer 25 year old Lionel Russell had separated from his is wife and child so it was possible he’d chosen to disappear. It’s equally possible he had an accident in the harsh terrain. Then the rumours started floating around the town that something more sinister had happened.
So why was Lionel Russell in the bush and what did happen to him? Something happened that summer, and Lionel Russell was never seen again.
So why was Lionel Russell in the bush and what did happen to him? Something happened that summer, and Lionel Russell was never seen again.
Episode 8 - Jamie Herdman
Tuesday 26 October 2010
Just hours before he disappeared in the Australian Outback, 26-year-old Jamie Herdman made a desperate plea to police for help. Like so many Kiwis before him, Jamie had crossed the ditch for a fresh start but the dream was not to be. Now almost four years later, The Missing revisits Jamie Herdman's mysterious disappearance.
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