Please attribute to Constable Gareth Hughes, Search and Rescue Incident Controller:
Police are still working to locate a person believed to be missing in Otaki River, after a member of the public witnessed two people in trouble.
A man’s body was found earlier this afternoon after the small inflatable boat capsized at approximately 1:40pm, Monday 23 January 2017.?
Surface vessels have been unable to locate anything further and due to the extremely rough conditions of the water, the water search has been suspended.?
LandSAR teams will continue to search the shoreline on foot until late this evening.
Police would like to thank all emergency services and local teams, including Surf Lifesaving and the Coastguard, who have assisted with the extensive search this afternoon.
Police are working to notify next of kin of the man found earlier today and our thoughts are with the family. It is believed he was a local man.
ENDS
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