Help solve a mystery
THE unsolved mystery of a missing grandfather has put a dampener on the new year for a Cabramatta family still struggling to come to terms with their loss.
Local
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE unsolved mystery of a missing grandfather has put a dampener on the new year for a Cabramatta family still struggling to come to terms with their loss.
Daughter Ruth Talalelei, who lives in Cabramatta, has launched an appeal to members of the New Zealand expat and islander community across Sydney, hoping “someone, somewhere” might know something about the puzzling case.
Ms Talalelei, 38, said her father Tupulaga “Peter” Talalelei simply vanished on July 12 in 2014 after catching a cab home from hospital in Petone, Wellington, New Zealand.
“There is footage of him coming out of the cab, paying the fare and then he went into his boarding hostel,” Ms Talalelei said.
“He never walked out again.”
A concerned nurse contacted police five days later, and Ms Talalelei flew to New Zealand and mounted community and media campaigns, however to no avail.
She said the disappearance was completely out of character and her father’s bank account was untouched.
His walking stick vanished as well, and then, unexpectedly in September last year, Ms Talalelei received a message from police: his wooden walking cane had been discovered in the laundry of the Bay St building.
“I had packed all of his possessions – and there was no walking stick in his room,’’ Ms Talalelei said.
“Dad couldn’t walk without it, so this is a clue.
“The coroner has now sent this (the matter) back to the police to investigate.”
Ms Talalelei, who has two daughters, said her only hope was to now try to appeal to the public for help.
“There is a big Samoan community around here, and people go back home all the time,’’ she said.
“Somebody must know something, people talk. I’m hoping that someone will come forward.’’
Tupulaga “Peter”, who would have turned 72 yesterday, has five children and 10 grandchildren.
Ms Talalelei said it would be a huge relief to the family if someone came forward with information.
She said she was in contact with police in Petone but there were no new avenues or leads.
“We’re reaching out to the Polynesian community for help,’’ she said.
‘Painting over the rules’: MP’s campaign cops heat over graffiti
A federal member’s campaign team is under fire for “defacing public property” in its latest advertising strategy, as tensions heat up on the hustings in Sydney’s east.
Queensland man had ‘coke’, ‘K’ and cash in Sydney flat: Court
Police allegedly found wads of cash in a “hidden compartment”, as well as cocaine and ketamine, at a Sydney flat occupied by a convicted Queensland drug trafficker, a court has been told.