Colin, known as Col, Heath went missing when living in Te Kuiti. Heath was 46 and last seen by a flatmate in the town on March 19 in 2022.
Heath identified as non-binary and went by the pronouns they/them.
They had only moved to the North Island from Dunedin months before their disappearance.
In 2022, police issued an appeal for information the following month on the Waikato police Facebook page, followed by media reports in August, a fresh police appeal in September and a televised plea for information by family on Police Ten 7 in December.
A close friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, had contrasting feelings about the remains of them being found.
‘‘It's kind of a mixture of relief that we finally know where they are and just generally heartbroken that they've been in a ditch for four years.
"I thought that I would feel more relief that when we finally found them, I kind of always went, well, at least we'll know where they are.
"But finding out where they are and where they have been, it's like, oh my God, this is just horrendous.’’
A group of about half a dozen people remained in touch over Heath's fate and never gave up trying to find them.
‘‘ I don't think any of us really thought that they were coming home alive, especially after such a long time. But we always wanted to find them.’’
Col was described as a beautiful oddball by the friend.
‘‘Quiet but fierce. Very, very passionate about the things that they cared about. Loved a good protest.
‘‘Whatever protest there'd be, nine times out of ten you'd see Col, be able to sign with a made-up sharpie. Didn't necessarily matter what the protest was for. Col would be there just having a good time.’’
They were a loving individual.
‘‘Really gentle. And loving. Had so much love to give, but didn't. The world didn't always love Col the way that it should have.
"Col had a harder life than most. And it had, you know, a fair amount of mental health struggles, troubles and things like that going on. And Col was an oddball. Col didn't fit in with a lot of places.
‘‘But Col was just a beautiful, beautiful human who deserved a lot better in life and a heck of a lot better in death.’’
The group of friends had issues with the police investigation for Heath and the resources put into it.
‘‘The thing I would really like to say is that just because someone is an oddball, who might not fit neatly in a box or kind of more the fringes of society, doesn't mean they're not valued as a person and doesn't mean that they aren't loved and shouldn't be looked for.
‘‘Some of the police were brilliant. Others, not so much.
"And for me, it really kind of comes down to that just because Col, you know, had mental health struggles and was queer and was kind of anti-establishment and loved a good protest and ... all the things that Col was doesn't mean that they weren't a loved human being - that didn't deserve to be looked for.
"Because it got to a point where kind of the resource thing fell away.’’
If Col was not Col, there would have been a lot more media attention and more police resources allocated to try and find them, the friend said.
It was hard to swallow that Col was found less than 20km from his home on a state highway, the friend said.
Another close friend, Archie Bailey, said the fact their "dear friend" remained undiscovered for years beside a state highway was devastating to them.
"It is particularly painful, given that this person struggled deeply with their own sense of worth in the world.
"To those of us who knew and loved them - and to the many people whose lives they touched through care, advocacy and community activism - their life held immense value.
"They represented the best in society and the best of us - a motivation and desire to build a world that was better for all of us. We miss them terribly", Bailey said.
