Police investigate suspicious death of Waiheke Island mother
Wednesday 7 October 2026 · 4 outlets · 7 reports · updated 
Police are investigating the suspicious death of 32-year-old Chantelle McLaughlin-Middlemiss at her Ōnetangi home. Although she was found alive and well by emergency services on 2 June, she was discovered unresponsive in bed less than an hour later. Authorities believe a small number of people may know what happened.
Key facts
4 facts
- Chantelle McLaughlin-Middlemiss died on 2 June on Waiheke Island
- Police are investigating the death under the name Operation Gannon
- The death is being treated as suspicious by police
- McLaughlin-Middlemiss was 32 years old
The full story
1 min read · 2 outlets
Police are investigating the suspicious death of 32-year-old Chantelle McLaughlin-Middlemiss on Waiheke Island. Emergency services conducted a welfare check at her Ōnetangi home at 2.42pm on 2 June and found her alive and well. However, she was found unresponsive in bed at approximately 3.30pm that same afternoon.
First aid was administered, but fire and ambulance staff were unable to revive her. The investigation, named Operation Gannon, is focusing on the hours before the initial welfare check and any persons McLaughlin-Middlemiss may have had contact with that day. Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend stated that police believe a "select few" may have information regarding the death.
On the night before she died, McLaughlin-Middlemiss was seen socialising and joking with locals at a beachfront bar in Ōnetangi. A taxi driver reported she was a regular at the pub and was in good spirits. Neighbours reported hearing loud banging and yelling coming from the home on the afternoon of her death.
McLaughlin-Middlemiss was a house painter who ran her own business and was a mother of two. Those who knew her described her as a loving, happy, and bubbly person.
How it developed
- Thu 8 Oct, 6:14pmPolice have named the investigation Operation Gannon and stated they believe a select few people may have information.
Where reports differ
- One report notes she had been in a new relationship with a woman that had ended before her death, while another focuses on her being a mother of two from a previous partner
Compiled from reports by Stuff and NZ Herald.