By 3 News online staff
The mother of missing schoolboy Mike Zhao-Beckenridge is holding onto hopes her 11-year-old son is alive.
Police have admitted there are no human remains in a car-wreck connected to the young boy.
The wreckage, found at the bottom of a cliff in the Catlins, has formed the focal point of an inquiry into the mysterious case. Police had suspected it was driven over the edge by Mike's estranged stepfather, John Beckenridge, as part of a murder-suicide.
But the Volkswagen Toureg was underwater for weeks and any evidence has been washed away.
A source close to Mike's mother told the Southland Times the family are still hopeful the boy is alive.
"The family has always had very strong hope and belief, even before [the forensics results], and they'll continue to have that," they said.
"It's an exceptionally hard thing for a mother to have to deal with, the only way I can try to describe it on her behalf is that the hope has to outweigh the fear. We're just desperate for something that will tell us where he is."
Police plan to refer the case to the coroner, but will continue with their investigation.
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source: newshub archive
