Police can confirm a body has been found during the search for an overdue boat in Northland, which went missing last night with two people onboard.
About 9pm, family members called emergency services to report the 17-foot vessel was two hours overdue. The single-engine runabout had been expected to return to Pataua South at 7pm following a fishing trip.
A search began immediately and ran through till 4am, supported by the Police Eagle helicopter.
The search was ramped up at daylight this morning, and involved Police, Land Search and Rescue, volunteers from Coastguard Tūtūkākā, Coastguard Whangārei and Coastguard Air Patrol, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Auckland Maritime Unit, and members of the community.
Detective Sergeant Paul Overton said search efforts were ongoing to find the outstanding person.
The boat was spotted by a member of the public and Coastguard Air Patrol quickly attended to confirm it was the missing boat before Coastguard towed it back to shore, however nobody was on board, he said.
“Another member of the public then located a person deceased in the water, and they stayed with them until the body could be recovered.
“While this isn’t the outcome any of us wanted, we remain focused on bringing both people home to their whānau. A large-scale search by sea and air is ongoing, along with searches of the shoreline.
“I would like to acknowledge all of those people involved, including boaties and members of the community who offered their help.”
