'Waste of time': Psychic tip-offs sent to missing woman Jessica Boyce's family

Sunday, 31 March 2019

The family of Jessica Boyce, last seen nearly two weeks ago, has been inundated with messages of support, some of them from people reaching out to psychics for extrasensory tip-offs.

Boyce's cousin Aaron Goodwin, who travelled up from Dunedin to help with the search, said he alone had received about half a dozen messages with psychic information.

'It isn't the psychics themselves getting in touch with us, but instead people have been getting in touch with them [psychics] off their own back and sending us screenshots of their conversations,' Goodwin said.

Goodwin said he appreciated the support, but thought it was a 'waste of time'.

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He had 'no idea' what the messages even said, deciding not to read them once he realised they were from a psychic.

Land around Lake Chalice is steep and covered in vegetation.

Instead, he sent the information to some family members who might find it comforting.

'I don't want people thinking I'm ungrateful, as I'm happy to pass the messages onto family members who do find value in that,' Goodwin said.

'We even had one person who spoke to celebrity psychic Kelvin Cruickshank, who said if we wanted him to give us a reading, we could get in contact with him.

'I told the family they can get in contact with him, but I personally think it's a waste of time.'

Land Search and Rescue members search for missing Marlborough woman Jessica Boyce in bush around Lake Chalice, west of Blenheim, last weekend.

Kelvin Cruickshank could not be reached for comment.

Boyce was last seen on March 19. Her red Holden ute was found near Lake Chalice, in Mount Richmond Forest Park, west of Blenheim.

Goodwin passed one of the messages, from Facebook messenger, onto Stuff.

Jessica Boyce's cousin Aaron Goodwin supports Boyce's mother Kay Johnstone before they board a helicopter to search the Mount Richmond Forest Park from above.

'I'm not from the area so clueless of certain locations so have been googling to help me,' it said. 'As I type this I am getting crushing pain in my chest, to me that means I'm on the right path. Please bare [sic] with me.

'I found a list of wineries and vineyards in the region. Harwood Hall is when I got chest pains … I can't find anywhere as to where police have searched, but that's what 'came to me' this evening.'

Medium and 'psychic surgeon' Jeanette Wilson said she only helped look for someone if the family reached out to her, as doing otherwise was 'not morally correct'.

'You don't know what people's beliefs are, and you don't want to create offence to the family of the missing person,' she said.

Marlborough businessman Mike Jacomb with a bag of supplies to be dropped to Boyce if she was found and could not be reached.

'I always want to work directly with the family. But if asked, I would drop what I'm doing and go to them. I would never charge them [a fee], as that's not right. I would travel at my own expense.'

She would ask the family to provide a recent photograph of the missing person, and then 'see what happens through the spirit world'.

A police spokesman said while police always wanted to hear from people who had information that might be relevant to a case, police did not work with psychics and it was entirely the decision of the family if they wished to pursue that avenue.

The flight path taken by family members on Thursday morning.

Land Search and Rescue Marlborough chairman Peter Hamill said information from psychics was not something the organisation had a fixed position on, and he had never worked on a rescue that involved a psychic.

After a flyover of Mount Richmond Forest Park on Thursday, Boyce's family decided to shift their search efforts to Nelson, and headed there on Friday afternoon, Goodwin said.

The family would search Motueka and Takaka first, and asked members of the public to join the search, he said.

'We're printing larger photos and taking them out to halfway areas like Rai Valley … and also attaching posters below DOC signs,' he said.

'The clock is ticking. She [Boyce] has been gone for a dangerously long amount of time now,' Goodwin said.

'If people have information, they shouldn't hold back any longer. I'm scared there might be people who've seen her, but don't want to come forward as they don't want to talk to the police.'

Police and LandSAR suspended their searches for Boyce early last week until they had more information.

Marlborough area commander Inspector Simon Feltham said a review of the search efforts was undertaken on Thursday to identify areas for further investigation.

A family statement on Wednesday asked the public to look for Boyce at other popular bush areas across Marlborough and Nelson, and for vineyard owners and workers to keep an eye out, as Boyce was fond of being around those areas. The post said Boyce had mental health issues.

Hamill said earlier in the week the team photographed hut books in the park to see who'd been there and, from that, who might know of Boyce's whereabouts.

He wasn't not sure if all huts in Mount Richmond Forest Park were checked, but said the ones around the Lake Chalice area were checked by last Sunday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Blenheim police on 03 578 5279. Alternatively, anonymous tips can be passed on to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.