‘Jared, what were you thinking?’
All Jared Anderson’s family can do is wait.
The 35-year-old Taranaki man is missing, presumed drowned, after an inflatable boat he was in capsized at the mouth of the Otaki River on Monday and he was sucked out to sea.
The body of his friend Wayne Anthony De Bruyn, 52, of Otaki, formerly of Taranaki, was recovered on the day of the accident.
Anderson’s sister, Natahsa Ardern, said her anger was keeping her emotions in check.
‘‘I’m angry. We’re like: ‘Stupid Jared. What were you thinking?’ It’s too soon to go that early in life.’’
At the time, the weather wasn’t like it was in Taranaki, because no-one in their right mind would have done that, she said.
‘‘They thought, she’ll be right mate, good old Kiwi attitude. No lifejackets, blow-up dingy, going for the sea. It started out as fun. The only good little bit about it is at least they were doing something they enjoyed.’’
They had given up hoping he would be found alive, she said.
‘‘We say, ‘oh he’s on some island waiting to be rescued’, but that’s just silly. I just wish he would surface. It’s an unusual feeling. We want to get on with it, but we can’t. Nothing is in our control.’’ It’s the not knowing, she said. ‘‘We just get to wait. There’s so many awful thoughts with the ifs, buts and maybes.’’
Her brother was a happy-golucky wanderer. ‘‘He was not a long stayer in one place. He’d do a week here, a week there.
‘‘Jared would carry his cat in his cat carrier when he hitched. We called him the wandering womble. Off he’d travel, put his thumb out and meet a new friend every time.’’
The tragedy had helped reunite their family, Ardern said.
‘‘We’re pretty much estranged. Most of the time it’s just me, Jared, [sister] Alex and the kids [Marishka, 14, and Zyanya, 10].’’
But now they have found siblings and their parents in Australia. ‘‘We had to give one up to get the others. It’s exciting, but sad at the same time. Too many emotions, my body is on overload.’’
Jared was a really neat guy and was good with the kids, she said.
‘‘He was always trying to be silly. He’d bring stories about all his hitching experiences. We’re going to miss him. He’s a big loss. We’ve got a long way to go yet. We’re still in limbo, waiting, that’s the hardest part.’’
"I just wish he would surface. It's an unusual feeling. We want to get on with it, but we can't. Nothing is in our control." Natahsa Ardern, sister of missing man Jared Anderson