Jim Donnelly

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

New Zealand (POLICE)

Missing From:

Waiuku, New Zealand

Summary:

Jim Donnelly, a 43-year-old father-of-two, disappeared on Monday, June 21, 2004, from Glenbrook Steel Mill in Waiuku, South Auckland, where he had worked as a supervisory engineer for 19 years. He went to work at the Glenbrook Steel Mill but never came home. Despite extensive searches at the mill and surrounding area, and an in-depth investigation, the coroner found what happened to him remains unexplained but "the presumption is Jim has died".

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On June 21, 2004, Jim left the home he shared with Tracey and their children Liam and Siobhan and went to work. The investigation found that Jim stopped for petrol on his way to work and bought a muffin with his fuel. At work, he parked, signed in and went to his office, placing the muffin on his desk. He briefly discussed soccer with a coworker. After this, his trail goes cold. When Jim didn't show up for his 9 a.m. meeting, people at Glenbrook Steel began to wonder where he could be. They examined his office and found the muffin untouched and his computer off. There was no sign of Jim anywhere, but his vehicle still sat in the company parking lot. He would be reported missing at around 6 pm by his wife. Jim was observed acting strangely during the day by several colleagues and then somehow vanished with no one seeing when he left or where he went.

Additional Details:

Something had been troubling Jim, who displayed uncharacteristic behavior in the week leading up to his disappearance, including a sudden fixation on joining the Freemasons and cryptic remarks suggesting that he might be in some sort of danger. Jim had become stressed and withdrawn in the week before his disappearance. Tracey and Jim had made plans to stay overnight at a hotel in Auckland on Saturday, but unexpectedly, Jim claimed he had a meeting to attend. Tracey found it strange that he would have a meeting on a Saturday night and tried to inquire further, but Jim refused to disclose where he was going. The weekend before Jim went missing, he told his wife that he had to go to a meeting and said he might be a little fragile when he came back. He had also hired a suit to wear. After Jim was declared missing, thorough searches were conducted in the steel mill and its neighboring regions with the assistance of various entities such as the police, search and rescue teams, Air Force personnel, St John Ambulance, and steel mill employees. On June 26, 2004, a worker at the steel mill discovered a yellow protective helmet labeled with Jim's last name behind a protective cage near an acid tank. Further searches of the area yielded other belongings of Jim's, including his personal electronic diary, glasses, money, credit cards, and a library card. After draining the acid bath, they found his work ID card, PalmPilot, safety glasses, credit card, cash and a single key - his work key. The acid vat contained low-strength acid that could not have decomposed a body. Coroner Sam Herdson held an inquest hearing on the matter in Auckland in 2007. In 2010, Howick Senior Sergeant Dave Glossop looked into the case. He brought a "fresh pair of eyes" to the case and had more than 50 search and rescue professionals scouring 900ha around Glenbrook Mill for two days. Police investigating his disappearance looked into four scenarios: an accident, a suicide, a staged disappearance and foul play.

Case Last Updated:

Aug 29, 2026