Police to suspend search for missing boy in Huntly

Email
Print

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 6:01p.m.

Police are just about to suspend the search for a 13-year-old boy in Huntly

Police are just about to suspend the search for a 13-year-old boy in Huntly

By Amanda Gillies 

Police are just about to suspend the search for a 13-year-old boy missing since he jumped off a bridge in Huntly last night.

The bridge is a favourite spot for young people, but last night Zharian Watkins failed to resurface when he jumped off the bridge and landed on top of a friend he had gone swimming with.

 “We were all jumping off the bridge and one of our friends jumped off first. He jumped on top of him and he might have knocked himself out in the water. We jumped off and we tried to find him but by the time we got there he was down, down on the ground,” says one witness.

Zharian, a high achiever, is the youngest of three sons and his mother is heavily pregnant with her fourth.

Police divers spent the day scouring the river for him, joined by students and staff from Huntly college, on kayaks. 

In the past few years three people have died jumping off the 10 metre-high bridge and Zharian had been warned by his older brothers not to jump off it.

“He showed me the style of life. Now that he has gone [I am] broken,” says his brother.

Police say the bridge is dangerous and they want warning signs and cameras installed there but Kiwirail told 3 News that it cannot be held responsible for trespassing that occurs on the rail corridor.

The search for Zharian Watkins will continue until the sun sets.

3 News

Become a fan of 3 News on Facebook and on Twitter.

Post a Comment

Before commenting, please take the time to read our moderation guide


(Won't be published)



Comments

13 Feb 2012 09:18p.m.

johnmillan wrote:

Why dont they shut Pahia beach down,as many get drowned there also the life guards have to risk their own lives too help some of the idiots who swim there without any regards to the sea.It was a sad day for this child to have lost his life,but children must learn that safety comes first,and find some where better too swim as the Waikato also takes many lives,as the river is so vast and the currents are very strong.

12 Feb 2012 07:04p.m.

ANONYMOUS wrote:

i think at this time of loss that u should keep your comments to yourself , There's people grieving that don't want to see your comment. They were only young boys. yeah no excuse but cummon mate. think about it.

12 Feb 2012 07:05a.m.

Mike wrote:

At some stage people need to take some responsibility.

Its a railway bridge which people shouldn't be on in the first place, like people shouldn't go on walking on our motorways. Jumping 10 mtrs off a railway bridge is idiotic and no signage would stop this tradegy.

The bridge is known to be dangerous to jump off. Its not the first fatality, nor will it be the last. As the news reported with couple of family saying they had specifically told the kid not to jump off the bridge - did it anyway. Its an attitude of never take responsibility and nothing will ever happen to me, nor will anything be my fault ...