{"id":194227,"date":"2025-12-21T02:12:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T02:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/194227\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T02:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T02:12:09","slug":"ruatiti-double-homicide-police-still-searching-for-mitchell-cole-one-week-on-from-investigations-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/194227\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruatiti double homicide: Police still searching for Mitchell Cole one week on from investigation\u2019s launch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe man was described as late 20s or early 30s, around 6ft tall, clean-shaven with a lean, athletic build,\u201d Bouterey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was wearing a singlet, shorts and baseball cap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BrendonBrendon and Trina Cole.<\/p>\n

Anyone who saw the man, or was in the area at the time, is urged to contact police.<\/p>\n

Mitchell is Brendon\u2019s son and Trina\u2019s stepson, the Herald understands<\/a>. The couple were known in the tight-knit community as dedicated sheep farmers, and Trina was highly regarded in Neapolitan mastiff dog-breeding circles countrywide.<\/p>\n

Police have said Mitchell should not be approached<\/a>, and are asking members of the public to call 111 immediately if they spot him.<\/p>\n

Bouterey said police \u201cwill pursue every lead available to us in relation to this investigation and are working to locate Cole as quickly as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cA warrant for his arrest has also been issued for unlawful possession of firearms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s social media highlights his passion for hunting, and his deep understanding of the local terrain.<\/p>\n

\"MitchellMitchell Cole (pictured) is an accomplished hunter with a deep understanding of the local area.<\/p>\n

Hunters are urged to stay away from the remote region as the search operation continues.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, police released images of a quad bike and trailer found near the scene and are seeking further information about the owner.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are currently parked on Murumuru Rd in an area known locally as the air strip,\u201d Bouterey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this quad and trailer are yours, or you know who they belong to, please tell us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone with information can contact police by calling 105 or visiting 105.police.govt.nz, using reference number 251213\/6207.<\/p>\n

Anonymous reports can also be made through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.<\/p>\n

Sign up to The Daily H<\/a>, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe man was described as late 20s or early 30s, around 6ft tall, clean-shaven with a lean, athletic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[30591,8609,2082,71,8916,35199,3331,5430,111,43,139,69,90,5270,675,115368,11929,6100,686],"class_list":["post-194227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-cole","tag-double","tag-for","tag-from","tag-homicide","tag-investigations","tag-launch","tag-mitchell","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-one","tag-police","tag-ruatiti","tag-searching","tag-still","tag-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}