Latest news with #WhetuBennett

RNZ News
15 hours ago
- 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
16 hours ago
- 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.