It’s one of the most intriguing and harrowing unsolved mysteries in New Zealand’s modern history.

In 2015, 11 year-old Mike Zhao-Beckenridge and his stepfather, John Beckenridge, disappeared in a remote part of Southland, leaving Mike’s mother and John’s former partner desperate for answers.

John’s car was found two months later, having plunged into the ocean from an 80-metre cliff, but there was no sign of John or Mike. 

Now a coroner is being asked to decide whether the pair are dead.

To give you a sample of this new true crime podcast from Stuff Audio and The Press Newspaper, here’s episode one of The Lost Boy. If you like it, you can find the rest of this series at https://listen.stuff.co.nz/thelostboy