Jo Reynolds, mother of missing toddler Jefferie Hill, Tokoroa 2017 Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
- Human remains found outside Tokoroa
- Mother of lost boy hopes for closure
- Forensic anthropologist explains identification process
The mother of a little boy who disappeared in Tokoroa in 1968 says she doesn't know if she wants human remains discovered yesterday to be him.
Jefferie Hill was almost three when he went missing from the back of his parents' home in Ferguson St, where the Matarawa Creek wound past.
Despite an extensive search by 400 police and volunteers including draining the stream, Jefferie's body was never found and in 1969 a coroner ruled he had drowned.
However, without his body, mum Jo Reynolds was never able to rule out foul play and in 2013 the back yard of the neighbour's old home was excavated.
Nothing was found.
Yesterday police announced human remains were found on the outskirts of Tokoroa.
Reynolds said she had not been contacted by police but she expected it to take time to identify the remains.
"I heard it on the news and my heart just more or less stopped. I thought 'Oh my God'. Could be Jefferie.
"And then I thought, 'I hope it is' and then I thought, 'I hope it isn't'."
The 81-year-old said the news was distressing for herself and her daughter, Jefferie's sister Laura Hill.
The pair had been searching for him and hoping to find answers for five decades.
"It's a moment where you want to know and yet you don't want to know," Reynolds said.
Hill said she was feeling "a bit weird" about the situation.
"...wish the police would just let the public know who they think it is," she said. "I don't think it's Jefferie but the waiting is horrible."
Reynolds, who was 25 when Jefferie went missing, said she was "between a rock and a hard place" and wanted police to tell her whether the remains belonged to an adult or child.
Jefferie Hill before he disappeared in 1968. Photo: Supplied
She understood the remains were found at Mossop Rd, on the other side of town from Ferguson St, which was not connected to the creek.
Although she was hoping for closure, Reynolds believed the remains belonged to an adult and if that was the case, she thought they were more likely to belong to missing Tokoroa man Shane Edwards.
So did investigative author Scott Bainbridge, who has worked on the Jefferie Hill case and was also familiar with the disappearance of Edwards.
Edwards, a 42-year-old father, left his home in Hawick St in May 2022 and vanished.
His partner Alvina Smith told RNZ she had not heard from police over the remains found yesterday.
Bainbridge said from what he could understand Edwards had no enemies and had a happy personal life.
"My first thought was that it could be Shane Edwards. It's definitely the case that springs to mind."
Police said the remains were reported to them by a member of the public and that formal identification would take some time.
University of Otago professional forensic anthropologist Dr Jade De La Paz said she could not comment on ongoing cases, but instead explained the way human remains could be identified.
A specialist in skeletal remains, De La Paz, said a biological profile is developed through nine steps.
These included estimating the sex by - among other checks - looking at the pelvis which was wider in adult females to accommodate childbirth.
An age range estimate can be determined by bone fusion which begins in younger people as they finish growing and completes around the age of 30, she said.
Once an age range and the sex were established, the stature or height could be estimated.
Jefferie Hill, shortly before his disapearance in 1968 Photo:
De La Paz said these clues begin to paint a picture to help experts narrow down who the person might be.
After a list of possible people was narrowed down a DNA sample could be matched to potential families.
"What we're looking at here is not an exact science but what you're looking at is a way to narrow down the process so that you can actually figure out, maybe not exactly who someone is, but you can narrow it down."
De La Paz said forensic anthropologists only offered one piece of the puzzle.
Other ways to help identify a person were through dental records, and DNA testing.
Taupō area investigations manager Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley, said the scene was secured, and examination of the area was underway yesterday.
He said specialist resources, including search teams, were assisting to ensure a thorough search.
"At this stage, efforts are focused on identifying the remains and establishing the circumstances surrounding this discovery.
"We understand this news may be concerning to the community, and we want to reassure residents that our team is working diligently.
"Formal identification will take some time and until this process has been completed police will be unable to provide further comment or information on the possible identity of the remains."
Anyone with information that may assist was encouraged to contact police online, or by calling 105 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
