7 May 2025

Police officer maps all lost people

From Nine To Noon, 9:35 am on 7 May 2025
Senior Constable Paul (Carlos) Spencer has developed a national resource to assist in the identification of human remains and property.

Senior Constable Paul (Carlos) Spencer has developed a national resource to assist in the identification of human remains and property. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police

A police officer has launched a map of missing people he hopes will help reunite families with their loved ones' remains.

There are more than 500 people missing and presumed dead around the country, and Senior Constable Carlos Spencer considered that as land changes in places like Aoraki/Mt Cook, bodies of long-missing people may start to turn up and a map would help with identification.

On that mountain alone, there are 58 people recorded missing. A member of Canterbury's Search and Rescue team for more than 15 years, Senior Constable Spencer is often the one liaising with families looking for missing loved ones.

He says these families led to him to create the interactive map.