Memorial site to move from ‘vulnerable’ spot

The mother of missing Marlborough woman Jessica Boyce is ‘‘pleased’’ her daughter’s riverside memorial will not be removed, but instead shifted to a more secure area.

The Marlborough District Council confirmed yesterday it would talk to Boyce’s family about relocating a remembrance site built for her along the Wairau River, north of Blenheim, to a more suitable spot.

A council spokesman said staff from the council’s river department thought the memorial was currently in a ‘‘vulnerable location’’, and could be washed away in a flood.

Boyce’s mother Kay Johnstone said yesterday afternoon she didn’t mind where the memorial was located, so long as family and friends had somewhere to remain in touch with their loved one.

‘‘We’ve got nowhere to go. We know she’s gone, but we can’t bury her because we don’t have a body ... It’s not going to be there forever, it’s just in the meantime while we play this waiting game,’’ she said.

‘‘It gives people peace of mind to have somewhere to grieve.

‘‘It’s good that the council is going to work with us on it.’’

Boyce has been missing since March 19 last year, and her ute was found three days later by hikers near Lake Chalice in the Mount Richmond Forest Park. In October after she had been missing for seven months her disappearance

was declared a homicide investigation, with police believing the ute was deliberately left to mislead them.

The memorial was made by Boyce’s friends, but added to by family and friends. Visitors had placed flowers, teapots, lights and photographs around a headstone with the words ‘‘R.I.P Jess’’.

‘‘She was a big, big fan of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and she collected tea pots. She loved butterflies and dream catchers too,’’ Johnstone said.

Johnstone said she would talk with Boyce’s friends about where the memorial should be relocated, but thought there were several suitable spots along the Wairau River that Boyce had also liked to visit.

The braided river was one of Boyce’s favourite hang outs, she said.

Johnstone said she had even tried to put a fairy circle there.

Johnstone last visited the memorial yesterday morning, she said.

A police spokeswoman said police contacted Boyce’s family after learning of the council’s plans to tell them they might want to remove property placed at the memorial. They did not say when this occurred.