Latest news with #EloiRolland
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Reported Te Anau sighting not confirmed
An age-progression photo of French exchange student Eloi Rolland, who went missing from Auckland five years ago and would now be 23. Image: supplied Police say a sighting of a missing French student in Te Anau, just days after his disappearance from Piha in 2020, cannot be confirmed. Eloi Rolland was reported missing on March 10, 2020, in Auckland but was reportedly seen in Te Anau roughly two days later by a French tourist. No contact has been heard from him since March, 2020. His parents, Thierry and Catherine Rolland, arrived last month, on their second trip to New Zealand, this time landing in the South Island to follow up on the Te Anau lead. He went missing before the nationwide Covid lockdown began on March 26, and his parents were unable to look for their son until 2022 due to border restrictions. After being contacted by the Otago Daily Times, Detective Inspector Callum McNeill, of the Waitemata police, said the ongoing search for Eloi Rolland, five years on, was a "poignant reminder" of his parents' enduring pain. The detective inspector also said they had interviewed staff and holidaymakers at Lakeview Holiday Park in Te Anau where Eloi was sighted to no avail. Eloi was last seen on CCTV in a central Auckland train station where he was believed to be travelling to the black sand surf beach of Piha. An extensive investigation followed, including hundreds of hours searching parts of the Waitakere Ranges — the dense native bush that provides the backdrop for Auckland's west coast beaches. Det Insp McNeill said there was no evidence that suggested Eloi had been the subject of foul play. A French documentary aired in 2023 featured an interview with French tourist Oceane Beneteau, who said she met Eloi at a holiday park in Te Anau, days after he went missing. On Tuesday, Mrs Rolland said the couple had covered almost all of the police stations in the South Island, handing out an age-progressed photo of their son, who would now be 23. They had no new answers to the mystery of what happened to their son. "Now we wait," she said. Det Insp McNeill said throughout the years they had stayed in regular contact with Eloi's parents, who had shown "remarkable resilience" through an incredibly difficult time. The Rollands' current visit was a reminder of their suffering and the unanswered questions they continue to face, he said. Police are open to any new leads, and encourage anyone with information to come forward and remain committed to finding Eloi, he said.
NZ Herald
01-08-2025
- NZ Herald
Eloi Rolland: Parents of missing French teen return to New Zealand
The parents of missing French teen Eloi Rolland have returned to New Zealand. Thierry and Catherine Rolland posted an ad in a Central Otago newspaper seeking sightings of their son, who hasn't been seen since he disappeared from West Auckland on March 7 2020. That morning the 18-year-old searched Google
