News of human remains being found at Waihau Bay has brought mixed feelings of both hope and heartbreak for the family of missing man Jason Butler, pictured.

Police were notified just before midday on Friday of the discovery of the remains at a beach in Waihau Bay.

They were identified as human, and investigations are under way to determine how old they are.

Inquiries will be followed by a formal identification process, which the police have advised may take some time.

No update was available to the Ōpōtiki News this week.

Mr Butler went missing in October 2021 after being taken into the Raukūmara Ranges on an unapproved work trial with a Ngā Whenua Rāhui contractor.

He had only recently been released from Whakatāne Hospital while experiencing a mental health crisis.

Mr Butler’s only sibling, Huia Mackley, said the discovery of human remains so close to where her brother went missing had shaken her whānau to their core.

“I find myself torn between wishing this is finally our Jason so we can bring him home; and the deep sorrow that if it is him, we must now let go of the last shreds of hope that he might still be alive, still out there somewhere, one day still able to return to us.”

It took four days for Mr Butler to be reported missing upon the contractor’s return from the bush.

Mr Butler has not been seen since.

Mrs Mackley and her whānau have been searching for Mr Butler, and answers about his disappearance, to no avail.

“We have been left to fight: for answers, for accountability, and for the right to know what happened to someone we love deeply.”

Mrs Mackley said her family were shocked to hear about the discovery of human remains through social media, rather than from the police.

“I don’t understand how police can continue to tell me Jason’s disappearance is an ‘active’ investigation, but also that everyone working on Jason’s case has been re-deployed, and not think that as a grieving whānau, still searching for answers, that we may have wanted to hear about this from them.

“The news brings with it no closure, only more waiting. We want to acknowledge that we are not the only ones likely in anguish at this news.

“Across Aotearoa, too many whānau are still waiting for answers about missing loved ones. This news will reopen wounds for all of them, as it does to us.

“Our aroha goes out to every single family who is still searching, still grieving, still holding on to hope, or mourning its loss.”

Mrs Mackley said if the remains were her brother, then her family would finally be able to bring him home, lay him to rest and honour him with the dignity he has always deserved.

“If they are not, then someone else’s loved one has been found, and that whānau too will now be walking the difficult path we know so well. They deserve aroha, they deserve answers, and they deserve justice.

“Whatever happens next, Jason’s name must not be forgotten. His story speaks to wider failures in our health and justice systems, and to the unbearable cost when vulnerable people are not protected. It is our hope that, through continued media attention, Jason’s legacy might help prevent this from happening to anyone else.”

Anyone with information that could assist police with the human remains investigation is urged to make a report via 105, either over the phone or online.

Please quote the event number P063420839.