Over the next ten days - 3news.co.nz will publish its top ten New Zealanders of the year. They are in no particular order and we have tried to select people from varying backgrounds - the common theme is that they have, in one way or another, gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Opinion by Jerram Watts
The Aisling Symes case was one of the most tragic, heartbreaking stories of 2009.
The two-year old was missing for over a week before her body was found in a drainpipe in Henderson.
Police Inspector Gary Davey was at the forefront of the investigation the entire time, showing a rare determination to find the young girl.
In an early morning press conference, on Tuesday, October 13, Mr Davey was clearly struggling to keep it together as he addressed the media.
A quivering voice and moist eyes were signs the week-long investigation had meant a great deal to him; and to have found the girl – dead – seemed almost too much to bear.
Mr Davey could not say how Aisling ended up in the drain, a short distance from her house, but said it was most probably a “misadventure”.
It took a brave man to front to the media and public, early that Tuesday morning, but Mr Davey did it with a steely resolve, but filled with a compassion rarely seen by policeman in recent times.
Aisling’s “misadventure” clearly was anything but another case to Mr Davey.
Read the story here