Police revisit property in search for roadside killer
POLICE searching for the killer of George Taiaroa have again focused their sights on a hill-top property near Whangamomona.
Up to 20 police and a dog handler scoured bush and scrub around the eastern Taranaki property, on State Highway 43, yesterday.
The property is surrounded by a high deer fence and has been searched at least twice before.
Officers carried out a grid-search using machetes to hack away at scrub and metal rods to probe the ground.
Items including what appeared to be a metal frame and four-wheel-drive tyre and rim were removed from the bush.
Police will today continue their search of the area, which included the banks of Pohokura Stream and a culvert that runs under the road.
Residents say there is continued speculation about the involvement of the property owner in Mr Taiaroa’s death.
Last month, police questioned the man at the Stratford station but released him without charge.
Detective Inspector Tim Anderson, Bay of Plenty CIB, would not say what police were looking for.
‘‘It is a search in relation to that inquiry but we are not prepared to say anything more specific than that,’’ he said.
‘‘It is one of a number of searches we have carried out since the homicide and it’s one of a number of locations that are of interest to the homicide inquiry.’’
He confirmed items of interest to the investigation were found in the bush but would not comment further.
Mr Anderson would not say if the property owner was a person of interest or if police knew his whereabouts.
One neighbour said police continued to make inquiries with locals.
Kevin Barrow, a barman at the Whangamomona Hotel, said he had seen the man in town but did not really know him other than that he did some fencing contracting. ‘‘He pretty much always kept himself to himself.’’
Another resident said the man was a hard-working bloke who disliked authority.
It was also said the man had been known to threaten people and fire ‘‘warning shots’’ at them.
Mr Taiaroa, 67, was shot in March in Tram Rd, Atiamuri, as he operated a stop-go sign at roadworks.