The searchers wait for news of the missing boy. Photo: Alexa Cook/RNZ By Alexa Cook of RNZ It was an awful end to a day that had been filled with so much hope and optimism. Five-year-old Khyzah went missing on Sunday afternoon in a rugged rural area near Gisborne.
Body found in search for missing child Police and Search and Rescue had set up a base at the woolshed next to his home, and the muddy yard was filled with people. There was a helicopter in the paddock, dozens of quad bikes and utes, and a line of horses tied to a fence. Some people were talking quietly in groups waiting to be called up to help, while others were just arriving back from a morning of trudging up and down the boggy and steep terrain.
You could see colourful dots on the nearby hillsides, as people clambered methodically up and down, combing the paddocks for any signs of the little boy. There was a positive feeling about the chances of finding Khyzah alive and well. Five-year-old Khyzah went missing on Sunday afternoon.
Supplied photo "Everyone is out here trying, but nothing's been found sadly," he said. Khyzah's whanau were gathered at the gate of their home; children, grandparents, aunts and uncles all there supporting each other while they waited for any clues as to where their boy might be. His father told RNZ they wanted to wait before talking to media.
Inside the woolshed, standing over a wool-sorting table covered in maps, was Detective Sergeant Wayne Beattie. He'd been working around the clock s.