Newstalk ZB
A New Zealand man with Parkinson’s disease, who uses a wheelchair and has no medication or money on him, has been missing in Paris for more than three days. The family of Kurt McNamara has sent out urgent appeals to the public over his disappearance in the French capital near Notre Dame around 4.30pm local time on Saturday (2.30am, Sunday NZ time) during the night of the Uefa Champions League football fan riots in Paris. The message said McNamara has “Parkinson’s disease and urgently needs medication and medical support”. “He has no phone, money, identification or bank cards with him and may be confused, distressed, unable to communicate clearly or disoriented,” the family said in a message shared with the Herald. “He also has a prosthetic leg, which affects his mobility and balance, making him a very high fall risk. “He was last seen with a wheelchair/walking aid in the Notre Dame area of Paris several days ago (night of the Paris riots) and has not been seen since.” New Zealander Kurt McNamara went missing on Saturday, May 30 (local time). The message said French Police, New Zealand authorities and the NZ Embassy were involved, “but we are asking the public to please help share his photo and information as widely as possible”. The family said they are “exhausted and worried sick”. The Herald has approached the family and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) for comment. France-based New Zealander, Claire Waddington, shared another message from McNamara’s sister-in-law that the man was a tourist travelling with family and went missing from Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday. “I am a Kiwi travelling in Paris currently. My brother-in-law went missing from Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday,” said the message Waddington reposted on X. “He is a vulnerable person who uses a wheelchair. While we were lighting a candle near the exit when another traveller assisted him out of the cathedral unknown to us. We couldn’t locate or contact him after that. Missing person in Paris: Kurt McNamara from New Zealand Parisians: We received this message from a Kiwi tourist in Paris. Please share far and wide. I am a Kiwi travelling in Paris currently. My brother-in-law went missing from Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday. He is a… pic.twitter.com/4Lk7v1bfTv— Claire Waddington (@clairewad) June 2, 2026 “We’ve filed a missing persons report & are dealing with the police & NZ Embassy to try & find him. “I’m attaching a poster which we’ve begun distributing around the Notre Dame close vicinity. Security camera footage from Saturday shows Kurt in multiple locations there. He isn’t particularly mobile so this is the focus of our search.” The family has been distributing a poster with a photo of McNamara around the Notre Dame area, which says he is “wearing this same red T-shirt and no cap”. “He will be very distressed, confused and hungry/thirsty.” About 219 people were reportedly injured in clashes between football fans and local police across France after Paris Saint-Germain’s victory over Arsenal in the Champions League final on Saturday. The unrest was largest in Paris, where thousands of officers were deployed, with 57 injured.
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