Police have formally identified a former Dunedin resident whose remains were found near a Waikato highway earlier this month.
Colin, known as Col, Heath went missing when living in Te Kuiti. Heath was 46 and last seen by a flatmate in the North Island town on March 19 in 2022.
Heath identified as non-binary and went by the pronouns they/them.
In a brief statement today, police confirmed that Heath’s skeletal remains were discovered off State Highway 3 in Ōtorohanga on March 6 this year.
“Police extend sympathies to Col’s family, who have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”
The death has been referred to the Coroner.
Heath had only moved to the North Island from Dunedin months before their disappearance.
In 2022, police issued an appeal for information the following month on the Waikato police Facebook page, followed by media reports in August, a fresh police appeal in September and a televised plea for information by family on Police Ten 7 in December.
Friends told the Otago Daily Times last week they were feeling both relief and devastation – but also directed sharp criticism at the investigation into Heath’s disappearance.
The friends claimed the case did not receive the urgency it deserved, and that if Heath had not been who they were, there would have been a lot more media attention and resources allocated to try to find them.
Some of the police were brilliant, others “not so much”, a friend said.
A group of about half a dozen people remained in touch over Heath’s fate and never gave up trying to find them, one friend said.
“I don’t think any of us really thought that they were coming home alive, especially after such a long time. But we always wanted to find them.”
Heath was described as “a beautiful oddball” and a loving person. “Quiet but fierce. Very, very passionate about the things that they cared about. Loved a good protest.”
They were a gentle person with a lot of love to give, but the world did not always love them the way it should have and as a result they had a harder life than most, the friend said.
– Allied Media, previous reporting by Steve Hepburn