Shoreline sweeps continue as search for missing swimmer Leka Pasiaka enters fifth day
Wednesday, 2 January 2019
A teenager who went missing off a remote Auckland beach five days ago had been collecting mussels from rocks before he was swept away.
On Saturday, 16-year-old Leka Pasiaka went missing off Whatipu beach in West Auckland after getting caught in a strong current.
Family members were at the beach keeping vigil on Wednesday morning. Some said they had not left since Leka disappeared into the surf while searching for mussels.
Meanwhile, Police and Surf Life Saving volunteers were back at the beach, carrying out a shoreline sweep.
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On Wednesday, other families were exploring rocks near where Leka had been collecting mussels at the south end of the rugged beach.
Signs at the entrance to the track, which snakes from a clearing near the campsite down to the beach, said swimming was 'not advised' as the beach often had strong rips.
There would be a second shoreline sweep on Wednesday afternoon, and the Harbourmaster continued to search the sea, a police spokesman said.
For five days, the Police Eagle helicopter and Coastguard had also conducted aerial searches of both the shoreline and the sand banks in the area.
Surf Life Saving all-terrain vehicles also continued to search the shoreline, the spokesman said.
Two other people made it back to shore after being pulled out to sea with Leka, who made it back to shore, police said on Saturday.
One was taken to hospital for observation.
An hour's drive from Auckland, isolated Whatipu does not have its own surf lifesavers.
The closest beach with a surf lifesaving club is Karekare, the next beach around the coast.
Over the weekend, surf lifesavers in the northern region – between Cape Reinga and Raglan – rescued 15 people from the water in total.
On Saturday, two people were rescued at Sunset Beach at Port Waikato.
On Sunday, 10 people were rescued at Muriwai on Auckland's west coast, one at nearby Piha and one at Whangarei Heads.