Italian teen Sharon Maccanico and Rotorua grandmother are believed to be among the missing after the Mount Maunganui landslide.<\/p>\n
NZME understands one is Sue Knowles, a grandmother and property manager for EVES in Rotorua. <\/p>\n
She is married to former Rotorua car dealer Robbie Knowles and they have two children, Krystie Lewis, who is the general manager for IT specialists iTCo Solutions, and BP Oil sales manager and drift car champion Rohan (Roady) Knowles.<\/p>\n
Sue Knowles was described on the EVES website as being a friendly and professional property manager who began her career in the industry in 2007.<\/p>\n
Outside of her work and close-knit family, it said she enjoyed horse riding, including trekking, hunting, and dressage \u2014 as well as mountain biking.<\/p>\n
Sue Knowles was hailed as hero in April 2023<\/a> when she saved the life of 5-year-old granddaughter who was being attacked by a dog.<\/p>\n Knowles was with her daughter and two young children who had travelled from Rotorua to Te Puna, Tauranga to buy a Black Russian Terrier puppy when she was attacked by another dog at the premises.<\/p>\n When the sire of the puppy sunk its teeth into the little girl, Knowles, who was then aged 68, wrestled the dog to the ground and prised open its jaw releasing the little girl from its grasp.<\/p>\n Knowles was described by her daughter on her Facebook page three years ago on Knowles\u2019 birthday as \u201cnot just a great Mum and Granna \u2026 You\u2019re the greatest woman I know.\u201d<\/p>\n The slip from Mauao came down at the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n Others yet to be accounted for<\/p>\n Sharon Maccanico<\/p>\n Italian media have named Maccanico as a 15-year-old from Avellino, Italy, now missing in the slip. <\/p>\n She was thought to be living in Auckland since at least May 2024 with her family, with her Italian relatives taking to Facebook to ask their local community to join them in a prayer at a church service in Picarelli in hope of a miracle.<\/p>\n A second teenager<\/p>\n Police have confirmed two teenagers were among the six missing. <\/p>\n With Sharon Maccanico named by media as one of the missing teens, it is not yet confirmed who the other teen is.<\/p>\n Some reports suggested her sibling was also in the slip after local iwi said they spoke to an Italian father who had told them he had two children missing. <\/a><\/p>\n Hero helper <\/p>\n Witnesses, including local Alister McHardy, saw a man in a blue shirt (estimated to be in his early 50s) race into the debris between a caravan and a toilet block to save those trapped. <\/a><\/p>\n However, they also reported he was \u201csandwiched\u201d as the gap closed and disappeared into the slip.<\/p>\n A Swedish tourist<\/p>\n Sweden\u2019s Foreign Affairs ministry has confirmed one of its citizens is unaccounted for in New Zealand.<\/p>\n A woman trying to warn others<\/p>\nPolice, fire and emergency services at Mount Maunganui campground this morning. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n