Suliana Fotofili has rarely left the site where she last saw her beloved husband fishing at the Ōpihi River mouth, the thought of returning to a home without him almost too much to bear.
“I miss him so much, but I will never give up hope,’’ she said.
Lionati Fotofili, 44, of Timaru, known as Lio, was reported missing, in the early hours of December 30, after he did not return home from a fishing trip the night before at the South Canterbury river mouth.
Born in Tonga, Fotofili is the father of two boys – a 14-year-old and 14-month-old – is the pastor of Timaru’s Church of Tonga, and was fishing for his congregation’s New Year’s Day lunch when he disappeared.
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While an active search for Fotofili was scaled back on January 2, his family and friends have continued looking for him, with a base set up on the shore of the river mouth.
Throughout this time his wife has stayed there, sometimes leaving to go to the Temuka Rugby clubrooms which were open to family and friends of Fotofili, or Timaru’s Te Aitarakihi centre.
The thought of going home has been a huge stress for Fotofili’s wife.
“The scary part for me is going home,’’ she said.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
Suliana Fotofili is comforted by family friend Anna Leger during the search for her husband Lionati Fotofili.
“Going back home, knowing he’s not there. It will be a different environment, and it is very scary.’’
On Saturday, about 40 people including family, friends, colleagues and members of South Canterbury social agencies did one last official search for Fotofili, covering large areas along the coast.
Divers were also in the water at the lagoon of the Ōpihi River.
While nothing was found, Fotofili said her hope that her husband would be found had helped her get through the past three weeks, and she would never lose that.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
The Fotofili family, from left, Vika, 13, Leilani, Ofa, 11, Suliana, Alipate, 14, Leo and Henrietta, with Lionati Fotofili’s shirt that was found about a week after he went missing.
“I have faith in God and faith in my husband that somehow he’ll come back.’’
Fotofili loved the water and was a regular at the Ōpihi River spot.
As his wife spoke to Stuff, the water gently lapped the shore, and fishermen dotted the horizon of the South Canterbury coast.
December 30 was a night not dissimilar – peaceful, calm and her husband knew the area well, having fished there for about 13 years, Suliana Fotofili said.
“It was a beautiful, lovely night and so calm.’’
Supplied
Divers in the lagoon at the Ōpihi River in South Canterbury on Saturday help in the search.
While she, and a couple who were friends of the Fotofilis, and their children, sat on the shoreline enjoying the night, they lit a fire.
Fotofili began to set up his nets, after waiting for the tide to come back, and signalled back to the shore he was safe by flashing his torch.
“That’s how we knew he was still there.’’
Then, out of nowhere, a gust of wind swept through the area, she said.
“All of a sudden it just blew, and we were waiting for him to flash his light.
“But he never flashed the light.’’
She said her husband had always talked about the need to not panic if something happened while in the water.
“He said ‘the sea will always bring you inland’.’’
Since that night, family and friends have remained resilient in their search for the beloved pastor, and rugby fan, scouring river beds and coastlines across South Canterbury.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
Suliana Fotofili lays out items of interest located in the search for her missing husband.
Some of Fotofili’s items have been located, including the blue and white T-shirt he was wearing that night, oars and his shoes.
The family has asked the public to continue to look out for other items including the green plastic boat/dinghy he was in on the night he disappeared.
The outpouring of support from the community has been something Suliana Fotofili will never forget.
“Even from people who had just met my husband once.
“I find the support so overwhelming. It shows the impact he has on people’s lives.
“I just wish English was my first language, so I could say how much I really appreciate the support from the community.’’
In particular the support from Alliance Smithfield, where Fotofili is an employee, and Multicultural Aoraki, she said.
She described her husband as a “lovely man’’ who only wanted his family to be happy.
Whatever happened, she said Timaru was her home now, and while most of her family was in Auckland, she would stay in South Canterbury.
Supplied
Lionati Fotofili and wife Suliana.
“I belong here in Timaru.’’
Throughout the past three weeks, family friend Anna Leger has co-ordinated the search effort.
“We’ve been searching for the past 22 days,’’ she said on Saturday.
It was the largest day and marked the end of their official searching, she said.
Groups from Alliance Smithfield, Fale Pasifika O Aoraki, Multicultural Aoraki, Te Aitarakihi Trust, as well as family, friends and divers all took part in the search.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
Telusa Latu and son Oscar, 5, take part in the search on Saturday.
She said over the past three weeks up to 100 searchers had covered the coastline from Timaru to Ashburton.
“And that’s not including the people from LandSAR, and the police.
“No coastal area has gone unsearched.
“Our motto has been ‘no rock unturned’.’’
She said the group had named themselves the Avengers. However, searchers had started to feel exhausted and Saturday’s search had been a chance for some “fresh eyes’’ to have a look.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
Family friend Anna Leger has co-ordinated the search across South Canterbury over the past three weeks.
Following an earlier Stuff story where Leger had asked people to contact her via an email address, she had learnt pilots in the area had also been keeping an eye out as they flew over the South Canterbury coast.
“It has been comforting knowing people have still been keeping an eye out.’’
A Givelittle page has also been set up to support the family.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 105 or online at police.govt.nz/use-105, using 'Update My Report'.
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