A man has been arrested in relation to the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Kyle Jenkins on a Northland roadside last week.

The accused appeared in the Whangārei District Court on Tuesday morning on a charge of murder with a firearm.

The 20-year-old was granted interim name suppression and remanded in custody.

He did not enter a plea and is next due in the High Court at Whangārei on 21 February.

Jenkins' body was found in a creek next to Otaika Valley Road - or State Highway 15 - on the morning of 29 January.

His motorcycle was found in a nearby layby, opposite the entrance to Otaika Valley Scenic Reserve.

The layby on Otaika Valley Road, Whangārei, where police say 18-year-old Kyle Jenkins was shot on the evening of 28 January 2025. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf

Earlier, police said they believed he had been killed between 7pm and 11pm the previous night.

They appealed to the public to come forward with any information about what happened.

Police working on the investigation, code-named Operation Distant, had set up a dedicated online portal at distant.nc3.govt.nz so people could upload any footage or photos.

Information could also be provided by calling 105 and quoting file number 250129/0335 or, anonymously, via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Otaika Valley Road was closed for almost two days following Jenkins' death, which police initially described as unexplained.

Friends have left a tribute at the layby, attaching 'Kyle' in painted wooden letters to a guard rail between the layby and the creek.

Jenkins' funeral is on Tuesday.

The Maungatapere teenager is understood to have worked in a café in central Whangārei.

This story was written by Peter de Graaf and originally posted on RNZ