In a nightmare that no parent should ever endure, the parents of 15-year-old Sharon Maccanico have spoken out in raw grief after the catastrophic landslide that buried a popular Mount Maunganui holiday park, claiming six lives—including their beloved daughter and her boyfriend, fellow Pakuranga College student Max Furse-Kee. “Our hearts are broken,” Sharon’s parents, Natallia and Carmine, said in a statement released through police, their words capturing the unimaginable agony of losing a child in an instant of earth-shattering terror.

The disaster struck without mercy on January 22, 2026, when a massive wall of mud, rock, and debris roared through the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park around 9:30 a.m., triggered by relentless heavy rains that saturated the hillside above. What began as a family holiday for Sharon—born in southern Italy, moved to New Zealand at age 8—turned into horror as the ground gave way, swallowing tents, caravans, and people in seconds. Six souls were lost: Sharon Maccanico, 15; Max Furse-Kee, 15; Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50, a literacy coordinator; Swedish national Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20; and longtime friends Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71, and Susan Doreen Knowles, 71.

Sharon and Max, inseparable in life, were torn away together in death. The two Pakuranga College students had been holidaying at the park—Sharon with her family, Max joining them and sharing precious final days with the girl he loved deeply. In tributes that have moved an entire nation, the small, poignant detail that has left the community sobbing: Sharon’s body was formally identified wearing a silver bracelet inscribed with “Max”—a gift from the “love of her life,” the boy who became a treasured part of her family.

Coroner Louella Dunn confirmed Sharon’s identity at a Tauranga District Court hearing on January 30, after her remains were recovered on January 28 amid the hazardous debris field. The bracelet, a simple token of young love, played a key role in the heartbreaking confirmation. “Sharon met the love of her life Max,” her parents said. “They quickly formed a strong relationship. Max became a treasured part of our family, and he looked after Sharon and made her feel so special.” In the midst of devastation, that bracelet—still on her wrist when she was found—stands as a symbol of the bond that death could not sever.

Max’s mother, Hannah Furse, echoed the bittersweet comfort: knowing her son spent his final moments with Sharon, someone he loved so deeply, and with her family who embraced him. “Our world has changed forever,” she said, describing Max as her “sunshine,” kind, beautiful, and endlessly proud. He was days away from turning 16; just last week her biggest fear was him getting his driver’s license. Now, the family faces a void impossible to imagine.

Sharon was more than a statistic—she was a gifted dancer who won an international competition last year, a devoted friend, and the “apple of her parents’ eye.” Born in Italy, she stayed close to relatives there, often calling them, and shared a profound bond with her mother and older sister in Belarus. “Sharon and Natallia had a bond like no other, and were best friends,” her parents said. She was loved by all, talented, kind, and taken far too soon at just 15.

The landslide site remains cordoned off, with recovery operations stood down as authorities shifted to body retrieval amid ongoing dangers—unstable ground, heavy machinery risks, and the sheer scale of the debris. All six victims have now been formally identified, allowing families to begin the agonizing process of farewell. Vigils have sprung up across Auckland, including a tearful gathering at the Domain where mourners remembered Sharon as a bright light extinguished too early. Pakuranga College, where both teens studied, is in deep mourning; the community grieves two young lives full of promise.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined a vigil in Mount Maunganui, where about 200 people gathered in sorrow. The tragedy has prompted calls for reviews into hillside stability and holiday park safety in rain-prone areas. But for the families, no inquiry can ease the pain. Sharon’s parents spoke of unimaginable grief: “At 15 years of age, Sharon died in tragic and unimaginable circumstances.” Max’s family clings to the comfort that he was with the one he loved most.

The one small detail—the silver bracelet engraved with “Max”—has reduced communities to tears. It represents young love cut short, a promise unfulfilled, two teenagers who should have had decades ahead but were claimed in seconds by a merciless wall of earth. In the aftermath, Givealittle pages and tributes flood in, supporting families shattered beyond repair.

New Zealand stands with the Maccanico and Furse-Kee families, grieving the loss of two inseparable teens whose story of love and loss has touched the nation. Six lives gone in an instant, but the memories—of a dancer’s grace, a boy’s sunshine smile, and a bracelet that bound them forever—will endure. Our hearts are broken with yours.