As put by Eastern Bay of Plenty Area Commander Inspector Nicky Cooney
Police and teams searching for a man missing since January have located and recovered a body from the Waioeka River this morning at about 9am.
This has been a long slow search, hindered at times by the weather as well as impacted by the slips on SH2.
Police would like to thank all those who assisted in the search efforts.
In particular we would like to acknowledge Land SAR volunteers, local jet boat and helicopter operators, along with iwi whose knowledge of the river and surrounding terrain has been invaluable.
We are also grateful for the assistance of the Police National Dive Squad.
This has been a true team effort and everyone involved has provided incredible support to the search teams.
The formal identification process is underway, and the man's death has been referred to the Coroner.
