The family of a missing teen are continuing to search for their "happy" and "contented" boy - staying strong 12 days after he first went missing.
Daniel Kelly, 18, went missing on April 22 after his vehicle was found on Karioitahi Beach, near Waiuku.
He had driven to the beach from his family’s home in Pāpāmoa, where they’ve lived for the last 10 years.
The family used to live in Waiuku, and Daniel was on a nostalgic adventure to his hometown.
Kelly told his dad and older brother that he planned to visit the beach, as “he hadn't gone out to the beach the last time he was up visiting,” his mother, Andrea, said.
He grabbed a towel, and his dog, Cairo - Daniel’s “best friend”.
Also, with him, a chilly bin with two cans on ice for when he was done.
Arriving at the beach, he parked his car on dry sand above the tide line - texting a friend that he’d be back in Pāpāmoa later that evening.
Hopping out of the car with Cairo, he kicked off his slides, where it's believed he went for a swim.
He never made it back.
Upon reports Daniel was missing, a search was launched almost immediately with the police eagle helicopter, land search and rescue and coastguard scouring the area through sea and bush to find the young man.
A fixed-wing aircraft also searched the surrounding coastal areas.
On April 24, Andrea received “the call that no mother wants to get”.
“That my son was missing.”
Left in his car was a towel, the chilly bin with drinks, and a red poppy he’d bought during his drive for Anzac Day.
Nearly two weeks later, there's still no sign of Daniel, but that hasn’t deterred his family’s search.
Since his disappearance, Daniel’s family, with the help of the Waiuku community, have been traversing the coastline, looking for anything that could lead to their boy.
“Every single day, Daniel’s dad and our cousins, friends and family have been checking a particular spot, Hamilton’s Gap,” Andrea told 1News.
“Every day, they’ve been walking from Hamilton’s Gap, going north and south.”
The search hasn’t been easy - the coastline is remote and long.
“We’re finding it difficult to find access to the top Awhitu Peninsula because it’s cut off from the flooding.”
From the start, locals have been helping in the search, which Andrea is extremely grateful for.
“The local community’s been huge.
“There’s been groups of four-wheel drives that have been checking the coastline. The horse riders down here have been checking long sections.
“Fishermen, drone operators, people jogging, and taking their dogs out for a walk - but it’s a long coastline.”
Andrea said: “There are no words to describe how thankful we are.”
She told 1News that the people doing regular checks find it difficult to access the beach past Hamilton’s Gap, as they have to cross rocks, and due to the tides, they only have a small window to search.
She’s now calling for people from Manukau Heads to help cover the northern coastline.
“We are now asking the wider Auckland community from the other side of Manukau Heads, Karekare, Huia, and all around the Manukau Harbour to please lend a hand to search at low tide for any sign of our young man so that we can take him home.
“Any help would be so very appreciated.”
As for formal searches, Andrea expects those to come to an end soon, and the search for Daniel will become privately funded.
A Givealittle page has been set up, where people who are keen to help can donate.
For Andrea: “Every morning is so hard."
“It’s the mornings that are the worst,” she said.
Daniel could have been ‘washed away’
On the day of Daniel’s disappearance, a witness who saw him park his car on the sand - and stuck around to make sure he was okay - described rough conditions.
The witness went a little further up the beach to fish, but was forced to pack up after a “huge rogue wave” nearly pulled him into the water.
Realising the conditions were too dangerous - he drove back down to the beach at around 5.45pm - seeing Daniel’s parked car with Cairo outside.
Andrea believes this same surge pulled her son out to sea.
“I believe this is probably the same surge that has caught Daniel out at the same time and has taken him away,” she said.
“The following morning, a witness reported seeing a lot of a single little dog's pawprints on the water's edge. The many other reports confirmed the timeline.”
During the search for Daniel, Andrea discovered that in 2022 there were 11 deaths off the Karioitahi coast, making it New Zealand’s most dangerous beach.
She described it as a “beautiful beach with huge rocky cliffs, black sand and lovely sunsets".
“But under the water, there are deep holes and rocks, rips and strong undercurrents, and huge rogue waves and surges that come out of nowhere.
“I have heard so many stories in the last week of people being swept away while walking onto shore from the beach, of fishermen swept away never to be seen again, and rough waters upturning boats.”
She offered a warning to visitors in the area - suggesting that people be wary of dangers beyond the sand dunes.
“I just hope this terrible accident, this terrible mistake, doesn't happen again to another poor family.”
Any information on Daniel’s remains should be provided to 111, quoting file number 230424/1494.
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