The whānau of missing Ōmāio man Jason Rangirerehau Butler has formally challenged a provisional decision by the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) to close a complaint into his care at Whakatāne Hospital without findings of breach.
In a submission lodged on Sunday, Jason’s sister and next of kin, Huia Mackley, responded to an HDC provisional decision dated 4 May 2026, arguing the official record surrounding Jason’s care still contains significant factual errors and omissions that have remained uncorrected.
Butler, who would be 55 years old this year, was last seen in the Raukūmara Ranges on 23 October 2021 and was reported missing on 27 October, prompting extensive search efforts in the area, including the Eastern Bay communities of Ōmāio and Hāparapara.
Search and Rescue teams, Police and members of the community spent days combing rugged terrain and waterways in an effort to locate him.
Despite extensive searches, Jason has never been found.
In October 2025, Police arrested and charged a 57-year-old man with manslaughter in relation to Jason’s disappearance. That matter remains before the courts.
Mackley said the HDC complaint concerns the care Jason received through Whakatāne Hospital and is separate from the ongoing criminal proceedings.
“I am making this submission public because the public and Jason’s community deserve to know that the official record of his care contains serious errors that no agency has yet been willing to correct,” Mackley said.
According to Mackley, the whānau response identifies twelve factual errors that remain within official records nearly five years after Jason’s disappearance.
Among the concerns raised is a claim that a documented mental health history repeatedly attributed to Jason across official documents actually belonged to Mackley’s own son rather than Jason.
The submission also argues Jason’s transfer to an Auckland Acquired Brain Injury Unit following a traumatic brain injury in 2018 was omitted from official records — information Mackley says misrepresents the severity of his injury and medical history.
Mackley further alleges Jason was discharged from Whakatāne Hospital on 13 October 2021 without reassessment despite what she describes as escalating behaviour.
In addition, the submission raises concerns around Jason’s access to personal belongings and claims there was no follow-up contact with either Jason or his whānau after his discharge.
Mackley’s response points to broader concerns about workforce pressures within local mental health services and raises concerns about what she describes as institutional racism in the way Jason was assessed, documented and discharged.
The submission references staffing pressures within Whakatāne mental health services at the time Jason presented to hospital, arguing wider system pressures formed part of the context surrounding his care.
A provisional HDC decision is not a final determination. Complainants are able to formally respond before the Commissioner reaches a final decision.
Pūkāea has approached Te Whatu Ora and the Health and Disability Commissioner for comment regarding matters raised within the whānau submission.
