Search for McGrath includes dump
Police will spend two weeks searching a rubbish dump for clues to the fate of Christchurch builder Michael McGrath, who disappeared 26 days ago.
McGrath, 49, was last seen at his home in Checketts Ave, Halswell, on May 21. His family reported him missing two days later.
Police have grave concerns for McGrath’s wellbeing. Family say his disappearance is completely out of character.
Detective Inspector Darryl Sweeney, the officer in charge of the investigation, said officers began searching the Kate Valley Landfill in Waipara on Thursday.
Twenty New Zealand Army soldiers from Burnham Military Camp are helping.
The Kate Valley search will be a major logistical undertaking with difficult health and safety problems. The landfill is only accessible by contractors who record where loads are dumped.
Last week, Sweeney said police had information that led them ‘‘to go to that location that may provide evidence as to Michael’s whereabouts’’, but would not give further detail.
The investigation, which involves more than 100 people, had been ’’meticulously detailed’’ and included water and land searches.
Detectives last week visited places like Little River, south of Christchurch, as they looked for relevant CCTV footage.
Police have been concentrating their investigation on a rural property in Candys Rd, Halswell, where his boyhood friend David Benbow lives.
Benbow, a 48-year-old prison guard at Christchurch Men’s Prison, is a ‘‘person of interest’’ to the inquiry.
A search at Benbow’s property was completed at the weekend.
Divers searched waterways in the Halswell area last week.
Investigators have also done the rounds of McGrath’s local haunts, including the Craythorne’s Hotel, nearby fish and chip shops and the Halswell New World supermarket.
Police appeals for information have focussed on between May 21 and 23 when McGrath may have driven his blue Subaru station wagon or ridden his bike.
They also want to hear from any of his recent building clients.
Benbow is estranged from his partner, Joanna Green, who lives elsewhere with their two children.
Benbow and McGrath grew up in Halswell and attended Hillmorton High School together. Steve Benbow previously said his younger brother was co-operating with police and had ‘‘nothing to hide’’.
Anyone information on McGrath’s disappearance Christchurch police on 03 363 7400 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.