Tçnâ koe Chip,

Your request has been considered in accordance with the Official
Information Act 1982.

 

Please note, our team received three separate OIA requests from you
related to the disappearance and murder of Heidi Paakkönen. We have merged
all three requests together, please see our response below.

 

I enclose the following information:

 

o The Supreme Court hearing regarding a criminal appeal for this matter
has now concluded. However, the Supreme Court has advised that the
Appeal decision is not publicly available. Due to this and the further
legal matters that are likely, Police are currently in no position to
provide, confirm and/or deny any information in relation to the
disappearance and murder of Heidi Paakkönen as this may jeopardise
further legal matters that are likely.

 

We have withheld the information you have requested in accordance with:

 

- section 6(c) of the OIA, as the withholding of the information is
necessary as it may prejudice the maintenance of the law, including the
prevention, investigation, and detection of offences, and the right to a
fair trial

You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision if you are
not satisfied with Police’s response to your request. You can find more
information at
[1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/make-....

 

Your request is now closed.

 

Ngâ mihi

ITHDE1

Senior Analyst

Information Requests | Service Group

 

P  105
E  [2][email address]
 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Chip Douglas <[FOI #32444 email]>
Sent: Thursday, 2 October 2025 12:50 pm
To: Ministerial Services <[email address]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Official Information request - Remains of Heidi
Paakkenon

 

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the New Zealand Police
Network. DO NOT click links or open attachments unless you recognise the
sender and are assured that the content is safe.

 

Dear New Zealand Police,

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

I write to you pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982 to request
information held by New Zealand Police in relation to the disappearance
and murder of Heidi Paakkönen in or about April 1989 in the Coromandel
area.

Specifically, I request the following information:

Whether New Zealand Police have ever recovered the remains of Heidi
Paakkönen.

Whether New Zealand Police hold any information that the remains of Heidi
Paakkönen have been recovered by any other person or agency.

Whether New Zealand Police hold any information as to the current
whereabouts of the remains of Heidi Paakkönen.

For the avoidance of doubt, this request is made in reliance upon the
Official Information Act 1982, and I ask that it be processed accordingly.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Chip Douglas

 

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This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[3][FOI #32444 email]

 

Is [4][New Zealand Police request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to New Zealand Police? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[5]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[6]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

 

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

 

 

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===============================================================

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subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which
creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you
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References

Visible links
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