A personal thank you from the family of Coral Burrows
16:27, 22 Sept 2003
Help sought from coastal workers, recreational users in Coral inquiry
09:08, 22 Sept 2003
Post mortem completed on Coral
17:59, 21 Sept 2003
Speculative reports 'unhelpful'
16:49, 21 Sept 2003
Coral's body recovered
13:50, 19 Sept 2003
Coral's family ask for time to grieve
13:47, 19 Sept 2003
Coral's body found
10:04, 19 Sept 2003
Arrest for murder of Coral Burrows
01:31, 19 Sept 2003
Appeal for Waiohine Gorge Road travellers
14:57, 18 Sept 2003
Sightings of fires and vehicles sought by Op Reef inquiry
09:45, 18 Sept 2003
Police focus on information received
16:43, 17 Sept 2003
Police conclude abduction is likely and appeal for sightings of another car
16:07, 16 Sept 2003
Appeal for car owners to contact police
16:09, 15 Sept 2003
Family keep hopes alive
20:58, 14 Sept 2003
Detectives canvas rural community in hunt for Coral
15:03, 14 September 2003
Have you seen Coral or her clothes?
15:39, 13 Sept 2003
A special plea from the parents of Coral Burrows
13:51, 12 Sept 2003
Sightings sought for white car
8:04, 12 Sept 2003
Arrest unrelated to missing girl inquiry
21:14, 11 Sept 2003
Coral's schoolbag found
12:39, 11 Sept 2003
Air Force Iroquois joins Featherston search
9:34, 11 Sept 2003
Police appeal for help to find missing six year old
16:34, 10 Sept 2003
Search intensifies for missing Featherston girl
9:11, 10 Sept 2003
Coral Burrows has been missing from Featherston since Tuesday 9 Sept 2003.
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Copyright 2007 New Zealand Police
Arrest made
Update 1:31am, Friday 19 September 2003
Wairarapa Police have early this morning arrested a man and charged him with the murder of six year old Featherston girl Coral Burrows.
Detective Inspector Rod Drew, head of Operation Reef, says the man will appear in the Masterton District Court later this morning.
Mr Drew says he advised Coral's family of the arrest at 1am.
"Naturally they are devastated to learn that their wee girl has died," he says. "All they want now is for Coral to be returned to them."
Police have overnight cordoned off an area of scrub near Wairarapa's South Coast and will this morning start searching for Coral's body.
"We have not found Coral at this stage. Once it is daylight we will be better placed to assess the situation and start the meticulous search in earnest."
Mr Drew says he can't comment in detail on the circumstances of the arrest as the matter is now before the court.
"The arrest is another piece helping to complete the puzzle of Coral's disappearance," Mr Drew says. "It does not mean the end of our inquiry. There is still a lot of work to do including finding Coral and returning her to her family."
Mr Drew says news of the arrest will hearten the South Wairarapa community and people elsewhere in New Zealand who have been so supportive to Coral's family and the police since the little girl disappeared on Tuesday, 9 September.
Background
Coral was dropped off at South Featherston School at 9am Tuesday 9th September 2003 by her step father but she didn't attend class. Police were alerted late in the afternoon when her mother went to pick her daughter up from the school bus and found Coral hadn't been at school.
Coral is a Caucasian with shoulder length brown hair. When last seen she was wearing a teal blue and pink jacket, red track pants with white stripes down each leg, long sleeved navy blue cotton top and carrying a dark blue backpack with black shoulder straps and red cord criss-crossed on the outside.
On Wednesday Police searchers found missing six year old Coral's backpack floating in the swollen Abbots Creek.
Detective Inspector Rod Drew, head of Operation Reef, says the bag was spotted during an aerial search of Abbot's Creek which feeds down the Featherston side of the Rimutaka Ranges, through the back of the town and into Lake Wairarapa.
