00:00Today police are searching an area of interest in the red zone as we try to
00:04uncover what has happened to Rowena Walker. Rowena was 39 when she went
00:09missing in August last year and police and her family are desperate now to locate her.
00:14We still don't know what happened to Rowena or where she may be but we are
00:18committed to finding her. Rowena lived nearby here and the purpose of today's
00:24search is to be confident that we have left no stone unturned in looking for
00:28her. To date there's no evidence that Rowena left Christchurch before going
00:34missing and we believe that she was in this area around the time that she
00:40disappeared. The investigation has conducted several inquiries in this area
00:45and today's search is a part of those inquiries. A massive amount of work has
00:51been done since August to find any piece of evidence that could lead us to Rowena.
00:56The search today is about being thorough and not ruling anything out. It's nearly
01:02impossible for a person to live their life without leaving a footprint of some
01:06kind which is why we have such grave fears for Rowena's well-being. We are
01:12mindful that it isn't just police looking for answers. Rowena's family is
01:16understandably desperate to find her and they remain hopeful that she is alive and
01:21will be found. At the heart of our efforts is a woman who was much loved and is
01:27sorely missed by her whanau. We'll be searching here until we are satisfied that
01:33we have covered every base and that may take a few days. This search is just one
01:39part of the wider investigation. I can't predict what it will turn up but even
01:44small fines can be impactful to an investigation like this. Information from
01:50the public could be crucial in helping us to locate Rowena and we ask anyone who
01:54may be able to help us to please contact 105 105 using the reference number
02:00provided in media releases. I can take a couple of questions if you have any.
02:04Can you please explain why? Sorry can we go here first? Could you explain why here? Yes I can. So
02:11Rowena lived in this area around the time that she went missing and we have to be sure that we've
02:17been as thorough as we can be in ruling any area out.
02:20Eight months is a long time. Why has it taken so long to carry out a search like this in
02:25Syria? The search here is one of the inquiries that we've been conducting in the area that we're in now
02:31and it's just a logistical thing. We've worked our way to
02:34towards this and we're here now today. Can I? Look we can't rule that out. We very much hope that
02:43Rowena is alive and will be coming home but we have to consider the possibility that that might not be
02:49the case.
02:50How many hours have you been searching since she went missing?
02:54Look I couldn't tell you. We've executed a number of search warrants and conducted a massive amount of inquiries to
03:02find her.
03:03You've used the term brave fears. Can you explain what you mean by that?
03:07Yeah well as I alluded to you know we go through our life and we leave footprints digital and otherwise
03:12in it and Rowena hasn't done that since mid August 2025 and that's really concerning for us.
03:19What are you looking for here today?
03:21I can't predict what we might find here today but an investigation like this the smallest piece of evidence could
03:28be crucial in resolving it. It could be clothing, it could be personal belongings. We just have to keep a
03:33very open mind.
03:34What are you looking for?
03:39What are you looking for?
03:42I can't go into any specifics of things like that just for the integrity of the investigation but we are
03:48speaking to anybody who might be able to provide information.
03:52How many times has the red zone been searching for?
03:55In this investigation this is the first time.
03:57Why is that?
03:58Just because it's one of the things that's been on our books to look at for a long time and
04:03we've reached a point in the investigation where it's time to tick that off.
04:06There's nothing specific that we have that has led us here such as information from the public.
04:11It's just something that we need to cover off to be satisfied. We've done everything we can.
04:17How large is the search area in the red zone?
04:19It is quite large. I don't know geographically exactly how large but we have around about 30 staff searching today
04:26and probably tomorrow and maybe into Friday.
04:31What kinds of areas will you be searching? Kayakers, canoers, things like that would have been down the river, dogs
04:37and dog walks would have been in the area as well. Where are we going to be looking?
04:40Correct. So the focus is really for areas of vegetation where things could be hidden or concealed. As you've probably
04:49seen there are bodies of water with vegetation either side and we'll cover those.
04:54Tomorrow we'll also put a drone up to search the more open areas as well.
04:58Rowena has been in that stretch for very long before she can see.
05:03Rowena travelled around the country a lot. Her family is more or less based in Nelson but we know that
05:09she was living here at the time and in this area.
05:14You must be in contact with her family. How are they going in this particular?
05:17I have regular contact with Rowena's family, particularly her mum who is looking after Rowena's children. She is desperate. She
05:25is making her way through life very hopeful that Rowena will come home.
05:31The year is an opposite. That must be a heavy burden to carry. What's that like for you and the
05:36team here as well?
05:37Very much so. We are very mindful that it's not just work, it's about bringing a loved one home to
05:44their family and we take that very seriously.
05:46Just one more time, could you talk through what the teams are actually doing, the specialists as I understand? What
05:51types of work will they be doing here today? What areas will they be looking at?
05:59There will be an element of grid searching through the vegetated areas and along the waterways, probing into the ground
06:08just in the hopes of finding anything that really is out of place and doesn't belong there.
06:14Does that include looking for ability?
06:16We can't rule that possibility out. I hope that that's not the case, but we have to consider that that
06:21might be the case.
06:23If the search is unsuccessful, where will we look next?
06:28Again, I can't go into too many details about that, but obviously there's wider areas of the red zone and
06:33we may need to look at that.
06:35I probably need to wrap it up. Is there one last question?
06:39Thank you very much for coming.
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