The search for Grace
Distraught family wait for answers
Anew photograph showing the last known sighting of missing tourist Grace Millane has been released by police. The blurry image — taken from CCTV security footage — shows the young woman dressed in a black dress and white shoes, with her brown hair down.
The image was captured on Saturday night, about 7.15pm, in downtown Auckland near SkyCity, police said.
It is the last time anyone has seen Millane, whose 22nd birthday was the next day.
Detective Inspector Scott Beard said police were dealing with her family in the United Kingdom and were expecting her father to arrive today.
“Her family member is coming out — obviously, they’re distraught. They’re on the other side of the world and they haven’t heard from her.” Beard said there was no evidence of foul play at this stage and police were speaking with people at the backpackers Millane was staying at — including those she was with on Saturday night.
He would not confirm what was left at the room, but said her belongings remained there.
Millane, who has been in New Zealand for about two weeks, has travelled to the Bay of Islands since arriving.
She was due to leave New Zealand in about two weeks, police said.
More than 20 police staff are on the case, he said.
Police would not comment on her bank account or cellphone activity.
“The longer this goes on, the more worrying it is. At this stage we’re hopeful we will find Grace.”
Beard said they were still trying to get in touch with a number of people she had been with on Saturday night.
Millane’s father, millionaire property developer David Millane, is due to touch down in Auckland today. Beard said having him here would allow officers to get to know more about Grace Millane’s background.
“I’m sure he’ll want to know, first hand, what the police are doing to try to find his daughter,” Beard said.
His wife, Gillian, is recovering from an operation and will stay back in the UK, the Daily Mail reported.
Grace Millane, who graduated from the UK’s University of Lincoln this year, reportedly saved for her trip to New Zealand by working at her father’s company.
A talented artist, Millane has shared a number of her works — watercolour pieces — on a dedicated Facebook and Instagram page.
She also sold a number of paintings to help fund her big overseas trip — which included a journey to Lima, Peru, and Machu Picchu.
A message she posted on Twitter, on November 19, read: “Of course it’s raining when I arrive in New Zealand.” Last Thursday, November 29, she posted: “I think travelling has changed me I just bought some blue jeans.”
Millane’s brother, Michael Millane, posted on social media that the family had been calling his sister’s cellphone — but that it was going straight to voicemail.
He said she had been staying at X Base Backpackers — which she described as a “party hostel” — and had been sharing a room with two other girls and a boy. “Her disappearance was completely out of the blue.”