The property at Rangwahia where a search related to Breanna Muriwai, and a suspicious fire took place. Photo: Supplied / NZME / Mark Mitchell
- Breanna Muriwai was last seen in August 2022 at Te Horo Beach on the Kāpiti Coast
- Police have confirmed a fire at a property connected to Muriwai's death was deliberately lit
- The fire occurred the same day Muriwai's mum organised a convoy search supported by locals
Sinister warning messages have been left outside the burnt-down property linked to missing woman Breanna Muriwai, more than two years after she was last seen.
Police have confirmed a fire at the Manuwatū property was deliberately lit after they recovered what they believe to be a "crude incendiary device" from the property.
The Rangiwahia Rd section lies abandoned and jumbled, without so much as a line of police tape to indicate it was the centre of a private search and a police arson investigation less than a week ago.
The ramshackle property looks more like a dumping ground than a place where anyone might have once lived.
Peppered with the bodies of rusted-out cars, piles of rubbish and recycling, and various assortments of junk, it's unclear if its topsy-turvy state is a result of the private search last Sunday, or if it has always been this way.
The burnt husks of two buildings on the land, believed to be a shed and a house, are all that remains of any residence.
Outside the front gate, which appears to have been taken off its hinges, are piles of stuffed plastic bags, a rusty saw, dirty spades and a blackened, rusted supermarket trolley.
You could drive right past, assuming it's just another property left to go to ruin with nothing more to it, but a sign outside, welcoming visitors to Rangiwahia, holds a clue that there are rumours of something more sinister tied to this spot.
"BEWARE!" is written on the bottom of the sign in mud. Other messages in blue pen have been scribbled around it.
"BEWARE!! Murder victim disposal facility," says one message.
"Police protected trap house!!" reads another.
Emergency services were called to the rural settlement of Rangiwahia, about 20km from Mangaweka, after reports of a fire on 15 September.
A Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) spokeswoman said they received calls to a house fire about 5.50pm. Fire crews found a single house and shed on fire.
"It was unoccupied at the time," the spokeswoman said.
Breanna Muriwai was last seen at Te Horo Beach near the car parking area on Sea Rd about 4am on 28 August, 2022. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
The property is just down the road from the Rangiwahia centre.
It's comprised of a scattering of houses, a civil defence centre, a tidy playground and a basketball court with no hoop.
Further along, there is a small white Anglican church with a steepled roof, and beyond that a half dirt, half gravel road leading to an out-of-sight cemetery.
Despite the isolated location and quiet buildings with darkened windows in the centre, there is a buzz of activity in the air.
The hum of a tractor in the distance, the grunting and calling of cows, the wind rustling through the trees around the place where Muriwai's loved ones say they found "items of interest" relating to her disappearance.
One local man said he spent Sunday helping to care for the search group and providing hot drinks for them. He said the community was sad for Muriwai's family, but did not want to comment further.
Another local said there were maybe 40 to 50 people at the property on Sunday.
A sign in Rangiwahia has been vandalised with messages relating to missing woman Breanna Muriwai. Photo: Supplied / NZME / Mark Mitchell
He did his best to steer clear of the property.
"I sort of keep my nose out of that," he said.
"You don't muck about with people like that."
He said New Zealand was better off without "the whole bloody lot" of anyone suspected to have been involved in her disappearance.
He was not home when the fire started.
"It's the best thing that's happened, it burning down, and no bastard's going to be back in it."
He said police had visited the property multiple times over the past couple of years, but could not say if officers had also searched it.
The property at Rangiwahia where buildings were destroyed in an arson attack. Photo: Supplied / NZME / Mark Mitchell
Timeline of Breanna Muriwai's disappearance:
- 26 August 2022: Breanna Muriwai is dropped off at Paraparaumu Railway Station, north of Wellington, by family members.
- 27 August 2022: Muriwai was spotted on camera buying alcohol at the liquor shop on College St, Palmerston North with a male acquaintance.
- 28 August 2022: Muriwai was last seen about 4am at Te Horo Beach, Kāpiti Coast. She was 22.
- 1 September 2022: Police appeal to the public for information on the 22-year-old's whereabouts and reveal concerns for her safety.
- 7 October 2022: Police reveal that Muriwai's phone was found on the beach by a resident the previous week.
- 14 October 2022: Police appeal for information about a pink and purple bag that was spotted on Te Horo Beach.
- 15 September 2024: Muriwai's mother organises a convoy to search for her daughter's remains.
- 19 September 2024: Police confirm a property connected to Muriwai's disappearance was deliberately set alight on 15 September.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 105 phone service, referencing file number 220829/5320.
* This story first appeared in the New Zealand Herald.