TAUPŌ — 1975 · Missing Person
Disappearance of Mona Blades
Eighteen-year-old Mona Blades disappeared on 31 May 1975, over the Queen's Birthday holiday weekend, on the Napier–Taupō road while hitchhiking from Hamilton to Hastings. Witnesses reported seeing her get into an orange Datsun station wagon, and a similar vehicle was seen turning off the highway onto rural Matea Road. One of New Zealand's largest manhunts followed; police interviewed more than 500 orange Datsun owners, but neither her body nor her belongings were ever found. No one has been charged. On the 50th anniversary in 2025, police said they were still receiving tips.
- Date
- 1975
- Place
- Waikato, New Zealand, Taupō, NZ
- Category
- Missing Person
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- -38.9000, 176.4000 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 31 May 1975Blades was last seen hitchhiking on the Napier–Taupō road.
- 1975Police interviewed more than 500 orange Datsun owners; the search failed.
- 2012An excavation following a tip-off found nothing.
- 31 May 2025On the 50th anniversary police said tips were still coming in.
Sources
- 1News — Mona Blades: 'Steady stream' of tips 50 years after hitchhiker disappeared 1news.co.nz ↗
- New Zealand Police — Mona Elizabeth Blades (1975) police.govt.nz ↗
- Wikipedia — Disappearance of Mona Blades en.wikipedia.org ↗
- NZ Herald
- 1News
- New Zealand Police
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
Related Cases
More cases from the 1970s
Categories
Collections
🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.