Sinkhole claims ‘amazing’ man
A man whose body was found in a sinkhole has been formally identified and his family have paid tribute to a man whose life was “wonderful and full of adventure”.
Peter Michael Miller, 40, was found dead at a rural property on Pigville Rd, Ta¯kaka, around 60km from Nelson, about 4pm on March 12.
The day before, a relative of Miller posted on a local community Facebook page asking if anyone had seen him.
“Usually [he] stays in contact, but we haven’t heard from him in a while. We are getting worried.”
Locals offered to visit his house and one person said both of his cars and motorbike were there.
“Had a good look for him, but no sign of Pete. The police are involved now and have requested that no more people visit the site in case of an investigation. Hoping our friend Pete is safe and well.”
Miller’s father, Ian Miller, told the Herald on Thursday that his son had fallen down a tomo, also known as a sinkhole, at his property.
His son knew the area “like the back of his hand”, he said.
“There was a big tomo just outside his backdoor. So basically he’d fallen into the tomo and broken himself to death,” he said.
Ta¯kaka is known for the large number of sinkholes in the area.
“There’s no suggestion whatsoever that anything untoward happened. It was just purely an accidental death as far as we are concerned. Obviously, the police are looking into it, but I don’t think they will find anything untoward.”
Yesterday a police spokeswoman said the body had been formally identified and the death remained unexplained. Inquiries into what occurred prior to Miller’s death were ongoing.
Ian Miller said the family became concerned after they had not heard from him for several days.
“It was extremely unusual for him, and it was only that a couple of friends of his went up there and they found him.”
He described his son as an “amazing young man”.
“He was studying for a degree in sustainability . . . He was widely travelled, he’d spent a long time in Europe, five or six years, and he had friends all over the world.
“The family is totally devastated. Losing a son is not something you expect.
“He had his whole life ahead of him.”