Fears for missing woman

Stephanie King left her Hamilton home at 7.30am on Friday and boarded a bus. She has not been seen or heard from since.

The 39-year-old’s brother, Lee King, is urging his baby sister to contact family or friends.

‘‘If you’re out there sis, get a hold of someone so we know you’re alive and well.’’

The mother-of-two, who has a 10-year-old girl and a teenage son, was reported missing by her partner on Saturday morning.

Stephanie King was the youngest and only girl of eight siblings.

All eight children grew up in foster homes but later in childhood, Stephanie and Lee returned to live with their parents.

They were close, and Stephanie’s son is named after Lee.

The family moved around as their parents were shearers but grew up in and around the Waikato, including Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia.

Lee King, who now lives in Brisbane, Australia, discovered his sister was missing when he saw a social media post on Saturday.

He called the cellphone number he had for her and it went straight to voicemail, so he called police.

‘‘I thought it was a prank, I didn’t believe it,’’ he said. ‘‘I called the number on the Facebook post and it went through to the police station, so I knew it was for real.’’

Lee said Stephanie was a quiet but happy person who was never angry. He last spoke to her about a month ago.

‘‘I’m hoping she’s just gone to a friend’s house and her phone went flat or something.

‘‘We have lots of contacts, so for those friends and family to say they haven’t seen her is a bit worrying.’’

Stephanie and Lee’s mother lives in Hamilton with family members but has dementia.

Their father is in a rest home in Christchurch where’s he has been for the past five years.

Waikato police CIB Detective Sergeant Scott Neilson said yesterday there were fears for Stephanie’s safety as it was out of character for her to not be in contact with family or friends.

‘‘There are no flags up, it’s just out of character for her to go missing,’’ Neilson said.

If you have information on King’s whereabouts contact Waikato Police on 07 858 6200.