‘Tremendous loss’: Final victim identified after Mount Maunganui landslide tragedy
Saturday, 31 January 2026
The sixth and final victim of the Mount Maunganui campground landslide has been identified as Rotorua woman Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, known as Jackie.
Chief coroner Anna Tutton formally confirmed the 71-year-old’s identity at the Tauranga Moana District Court on Saturday.
“Jackie is very much at the heart and centre of this hearing,” she told the courtroom.
Tutton said Wheeler was described as the “matriarch” and “backbone” of her family, whom had suffered a “tremendous loss”.
“Their tragedy is unimaginable.”
Wheeler, from Rotorua, was the founder of Colour Concepts, an interior design business she and her husband Terry established in 2002.
The family-run business later welcomed their daughter as a key member of the team.
Wheeler died alongside friend Susan Knowles, 71, who was formally identified earlier on Saturday.
Friends say the pair came to the campground every year.
“Sue and Jackie would stay here for about a month every year,” friend Alison Holtom said. “They always rented a caravan. It was just their thing.”
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said the loss had been keenly felt across the community.
“They’re good friends of friends,” she said. “They are parents, they are grandparents, and we’re just absolutely devastated for their families and all the families involved.”
Wheeler‘s formal identification comes after her body was found on January 26. She was the final of the six landslide victims to be formally identified at a coroner’s hearing.
Lisa Maclennan, 50, from Morrinsville, Måns Bernhardsson, 20, from Sweden, Sharon Maccanico, 15, from Auckland and Max Furse-Kee, 15, from Auckland also lost their lives alongside Wheeler and Knowles.
As the final hearing concluded, coroner Tutton took the opportunity to thank all those involved in reuniting the victims with their families.
“Those involved have displayed courage, determination, meticulous attention to detail, resilience, compassion, and an overwhelming drive and commitment to ensure that each of the families affected is reunited with the person they love who lost their life in the landslide.
“And that those families have been supported during what must be one of the most traumatic and distressing times in their lives,” she added.
Search and Rescue team leaves the scene
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said on Saturday that its Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team had left the incident ground at Mount Maunganui.
Assistant national commander David Guard acknowledged the “tireless” work of the USAR team and other specialist staff
“Our thoughts remain with the families who lost loved ones in this devastating event.
“I would also like to thank the community for their outpouring of support,” Guard said, adding that partnering with police was ”instrumental“ in both the rescue and recovery phases of the operation.
Superintendent Tim Anderson said the recovery work was ongoing, despite USAR’s departure.
“While some teams have started to depart, all the required safety measures and equipment remain in place, to ensure the safety of all the teams who continue to work at the scene,” he said.
Recovery and identification a lengthy and complex task
Recovering and identifying the bodies of those lost under Mauao is being completed through the disaster victim identification process (DVI).
It can be a lengthy and complex task which can be impacted by the number of deceased and the nature and location of their deaths.
The coroner’s court said correct identification was required for legal reasons, such as criminal proceedings and the administration of estates.
New Zealand follows Interpol’s four-step DVI process, which uses both post-mortem and ante-mortem data to help identify the deceased.