Multiple investigations underway after death of boy who went missing from school van

Friday, 29 May 2026

Multiple investigations have been launched into the death of a young boy who went missing from a van transporting him home from his special needs school.

Police, the coroner and WorkSafe are all making inquiries, with support from the Ministry of Education, which funds the school transport service.

The boy, who was under 10 years old, was found dead at a private residence, after he was able to exit the Ritchies Transport-operated van before he reached his home on Monday afternoon.

“A very loved young man has passed away,” the principal of the Auckland school told Stuff.

It was a “hard time for the family, as well as our whole school community”, with staff “hurting” from the loss of the boy, who had been a pupil at the school for three years.

His funeral was held on Friday.

Nearly 24 hours after being approached for comment, Ritchies Transport responded after Stuff called one of the company’s directors.

“Apologies for the delay in getting back to you,” GJ Thompson wrote, “I assist Ritchies with communications. There is no comment.”

Ritchies recently took on the contract to provide the Specialised School Transport Assistance (SESTA) service for a number of special schools in Auckland.

SESTA is a Ministry of Education service that provides free transport for children and young people with safety or mobility needs.

When asked for a statement, the Ministry of Education confirmed the inquiries were under way, but said it would be “inappropriate” to comment on specifics.

However it said it “sets clear requirements and expectations for safety, supervision and operations, and actively monitors provider performance against these standards”.

Police would provide no further comment, other than confirming the matter had been referred to the coroner.

In a statement, WorkSafe said it was “notified of the death of a child, who went missing from a school van earlier this week”.

“We are making enquiries to understand the circumstances of what has happened to determine our next steps,” it said.

“Where there are work activities involved, we expect those responsible to take all reasonable steps to prevent harm.

“Failures in these systems can have devastating consequences. WorkSafe will take appropriate action once we have established the facts.”