Missing fisherman pastor of Timaru's Church of Tonga [1]
Thursday, January 5, 2023 - 22:10. Updated on Thursday, January 5, 2023 - 22:12.
Father of two, Lionati Fotofili (44) went missing while fishing at the Ōpihi River mouth in New Zealand last week.
Tongan-born Lionati was the pastor of Timaru’s Church of Tonga and was fishing for the congregation’s New Year’s Day lunch when he disappeared on 30 December.
He is the father of two boys – a 14-year-old and 14-month-old – and his wife and other family members also live in Timaru, family spokesperson Anna Leger told Stuff yesterday.
Lionati was working at Alliance Smithfield and was ordained as a church minister at the age of 29.
“Lio has been in Timaru for almost 30 years, and he started the branch of the church [of Tonga] here,’’ she said.
He was reported missing at the mouth of the river, in the early hours of Friday, after he did not return home from a fishing trip the night before.
Leger said the church always had an end-of-year lunch on the first day of the new year, and with a love of fishing, and the sea, Fotofili always fished at his favourite spot at Ōpihi for food to fill the tables.
“It was always his fishing spot there and he would catch kahawai, mackerel and eels.’’
When he was reported missing, family and friends set up camp near the river mouth and had helped with the search, she said.
Alliance Group general manager manufacturing Willie Wiese said Fotofili is a valued member of the Alliance Smithfield plant team and “a leader in the Tongan community’’.
“We are offering counselling to our people and providing support to Lio’s family at this difficult time.’’
Searches north and south of the Ōpihi River mouth involved LandSAR volunteers from Rakaia and South Canterbury as well as the South Canterbury Coastguard, South Canterbury Helicopters and police search and rescue staff. Several items associated with Fotofili had already been found.