When 22-year-old British backpacker Grace Millane went missing in Auckland back in 2018, the entire country stopped. Every major news outlet ran wall-to-wall coverage. Every update, every lead, every police press conference made headlines. Social media feeds were flooded with photos of her face. The police response was immediate, coordinated and relentless.
Now fast forward to 2025. Another young woman, Te Anihana Beau Pomana, just 25, has gone missing from almost the exact same area. She was last seen leaving Auckland’s SkyCity at 5am on August 21, the same place Grace Millane spent her final night before being murdered by Jesse Kempson. Seven weeks have passed, and most New Zealanders wouldn’t even know her name.
Why is that?
Why is it that when a young British tourist goes missing, the media loses its collective mind, but when it’s a wāhine Māori from Dunedin, the silence is deafening?
Is it because she doesn’t have millionaire parents? Because she isn’t a foreign backpacker on a picturesque OE? Or does her story just not carry enough “clickable” drama for the likes of NZ Herald and Stuff to keep reporting on it?
Te Anihana’s whānau have been searching tirelessly, checking abandoned buildings, crawling through basements, pleading for access to spaces around SkyCity and Victoria Park. Her sister, Ebony, travelled from Dunedin to Auckland and has vowed not to stop until she brings her home.
This is a family doing everything in their power while the rest of the country scrolls past in silence.
The difference in media coverage between these two cases says a lot about what stories New Zealand chooses to care about, and who we decide is worth our collective empathy.
If you know anything about Te Anihana Beau Pomana’s whereabouts, please contact Police on 105 and quote the reference number 250822/6281.
Yes, Grace's name was everywhere, but for all the wrong reasons. I found the media was pretty brutal on her too, due to how she was murdered and the circumstances around it, aka Tinder and the way she died. Te Anihana's disappearance shows laziness within the Police, I hope they find her.
Good on you Matua for reminding the country about this young girl's disappearance.
Let's hope she's OK.
Nick Theobald
Wellington