A Hamilton man who vanished from the harbour town about a week ago has been found dead close to the Raglan footbridge.
Official identification is still pending, but according to police, they think the corpse belongs to Luke Berwick, the 31-year-old Hamilton man who was reported missing last week.
At 2:25 p.m. a member of the public reported seeing someone in the water from the adjacent footbridge.
On behalf of the Coroner, police stated that they will keep looking into the circumstances surrounding the death.
Earlier on Monday, a search and rescue operation was in progress.
According to what Waikato Times knows, Berwick was last spotted carrying his fishing equipment in a video that was taken
In the video, he was walking out from Raglan Holiday Park towards the beach.
Berwick had been at the holiday park since September 23. His car and other belongings, except for the fishing rod, were still at the camping site.
Police Search and Rescue continued looking for Berwick on Monday, using a fixed-wing aircraft in the search.
His family spent the weekend looking for him.
Included in the search areas were Berwick’s final known locations, which were the surrounding land and sea areas around Raglan.
Berwick fished from the dock at the end of Wallis Street, the Raglan mouth, Ngaranui, Wainui, Manu Bay, and Ruapuke rocks, according to a press release from the police.
Waikato Times was informed by a member of the search and rescue team that Berwick was not seen on any of the town’s CCTV cameras.
Police had been working on potential scenarios, including a medical event or mishap, he said.
Wahangaoterangi Trust had placed a rāhui on the local area and said its protocol was not to enter the ocean until the rāhui was lifted.
Put in place by local kaumātua, it covered all of Whāingaroa Harbour, Ngarunui beach North to Kaha Point (Mussel Rock).
“Please refrain from swimming, paddleboarding, surfing, collecting or eating fish or shellfish, or from playing in the designated area while the water is tapu.”
A rāhui had no time limit, although the latest news would be provided on Tuesday.
