‘We all feel the hurt’: Community reels after rural pond tragedy claims life of 5-year-old Khyzah

by Neil Reid 

A pall of grief hung over Tiniroto today as family and locals mourned for the loss of 5-year-old Khyzah. 

The body of the wee boy – who was non-verbal autistic – was discovered on Monday afternoon, about 24 hours after he went missing on his family’s farm in the rugged and isolated community. 

From Sunday afternoon through to mid-afternoon Monday, family members, locals and other kind-hearted residents who travelled from Gisborne and the East Coast joined police and Land Search and Rescue to try to locate Khyzah safe and well. 

The volunteers ranged from pensioners and young mums who searched around waterways and in scrub with their babies strapped to their backs, to school-aged children. 

But their hopes were dashed when his body was discovered in a pond on the farm. 

“The tears flowed,” said one Tiniroto resident – who didn’t want to be named – when they were told Khyzah’s body had been found. 

“And they haven’t stopped flowing this morning. 

“This is an utter tragedy. We’re a small community. We pretty much all know each other very well. When one of us goes through hurt, we all feel that hurt. 

“I can’t imagine the pain it would be for a parent to have to bury their child.” 

Another local told the NZ Herald: “I know the family and I know of the boy. 

“It is too hard to talk about at the moment. It is just too sad.” 

The family property in the wider Tiniroto area – about a 44-minute drive southwest of Gisborne – is situated in a rugged, yet beautiful setting. 

It’s an area where steep hills rise and then drop away from Bushy Knoll Rd, which for a long stretch is a gravel road that has borne the brunt of numerous wild weather systems – including Cyclone Gabrielle – over the past two years. 

Motorists have to navigate many large potholes, and numerous washouts leading to one-way sections, as they drive along the rural route. 

It’s rugged land, with creeks and ponds a common site on farms throughout the area. 

Tragically, it was one of the latter which claimed the life of Khyzah. 

Khyzah’s family realised he was missing mid-afternoon on Sunday. 

A missing child is every parent’s nightmare. The fact Khyzah was non-verbal made the situation even more desperate. 

One of his relatives — who travelled to Tiniroto with about 20 others from the East Coast to join the search — said the boy’s father was among family members who wasted little time in visiting local farms in a bid to locate Khyzah. 

Khyzah’s family previously lived on the East Coast before moving to Tiniroto. 

“We all felt it in our community when we found out he was missing,” the woman said. 

“Your heart sinks and you panic. I’ve got a young son, it is just a horrible thought.” 

Three years ago the woman — and scores of other locals — were involved in a search around the Tolaga Bay area after 3-year-old boy, Axle, spent 21 hours lost. 

Axle was eventually found, having become lost in the bush. 

“That rocked us, but we all got involved,” she said. 

“It’s especially scary when a young one goes missing on a rural property that could have things like rubbish holes, creeks, rivers, ponds . . . all these ‘unexplored gems’ which they want to visit.” 

Early Monday morning, the woman approached Cross Country Rentals asking if there was any chance they could help get a search party to Tiniroto. 

The company provided a 20-seat bus and a driver to get the group south. 

“They were amazing. I rang them at about 6.05am, by 7am they had arranged to put the bus on for us. 

“And it wasn’t just us from the up the Coast who had travelled down. There were many other Coasties who travelled down to Tiniroto in their private cars.” 

The bus had several pick-up points from Tolaga Bay, then Gisborne, before arriving at Tiniroto at about 10.45am. 

The group of about 20 then joined hundreds of others who had volunteered their time in a bid to locate the missing boy. 

Many were gathered around a woolshed on the property. 

“By the time we got there, we were itching to get involved and search wherever needed,” the woman said. 

“We had people checking the waterways, areas which had earlier been checked. Others went straight into it going through scrub and heading towards bush. 

“On that farm, you had ladies with their 6-month-old babies strapped to their backs joining the search. Everyone was just doing whatever they could to find the boy.” 

Khyzah’s dad was also part of the wider search party. 

In the family home, the boy’s mother was surrounded by love and support; including from the boy’s grandparents, other relatives and close friends. 

Despite the hopes of finding Khyzah alive, the woman who helped organise the East Coach search party said it was hard to ignore the fear that the boy wouldn’t be found alive. 

“People knew [of that fear], but no one wanted to say anything,” she said. 

“Sunday night had been terrible in the area. It had been cold and foggy  ... terrible conditions. 

“On Monday, everyone just concentrated on doing all they could. 

“Anywhere that could be searched was searched.” 

Officials decided the search parties out on the land would head back to the woolshed by about 4pm Monday. 

A rescue helicopter — with infra-red heat-seeking cameras — was again going to be deployed over the farm to try to locate Khyzah. 

It was necessary that as few people as possible were walking around the property to help the chopper crew zero in on any heat signatures that could be coming from the missing boy. 

While searchers were scouring the rugged property, the police national dive team were also carrying out a search of a pond about 500m from the family home. 

Tragically, it was where the body of Khyzah was located; by which time a lot of the volunteer searchers had left the property. 

Loved ones rushed to the side of his dad as the boy’s body was later carried away on a stretcher. 

As the tragedy sank in, Tairāwhiti police area commander Inspector Darren Paki opened up on the shared pain of the death. 

“This is obviously not the outcome we, the searchers, and the community were hoping for, and our hearts go out to Khyzah’s whānau and all those who loved him,” Paki said. 

“I would like to thank everyone in the community who has contributed to this effort, whether it was actively searching, or simply providing kai and kind words. 

“We have a wonderful tight-knit community here and we see the best of it in situations like this.” 

Khyzah’s death has been referred to the Coroner. 

The group of volunteer searchers who had travelled almost two hours to join the search for Khyzah were back on their provided bus when news reached them that his body had been discovered. 

It was a “sombre” time as the tragic news set in, said the co-ordinator of the busload of East Coasters who travelled down on Monday. 

That was a decision they made without hesitation. 

“Whenever a child is involved, everyone drops tools to get involved,” she said. 

“You just had to see the mums carrying their babies around trying to help. That tells you something.” 

The desire to help epitomised the unity felt within small communities around New Zealand. In the Gisborne and East Coast regions, it is a spirit that earlier helped many through the destruction of Cyclone Gabrielle. 

As Khyzah’s family come to grips with the reality of the loss of their loved boy, that love and support will no doubt be repeatedly displayed. 

“It’s what small communities do,” she said. 

“One of the Land Search and Rescue ladies said to us, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if the whole of New Zealand was like this’. 

“It was the right thing to do. We all came together to help out.”