Police in Northland have begun a homicide investigation after the body of a girl was found in Kerikeri.
Liberty Rose Templeman, 15, was reported missing on Saturday and her body was found on Sunday about 5.30pm in an abandoned orchard close to the town centre.
The discovery has rocked the Kerikeri community, with police saying it is the first homicide they have investigated in the town.
Inspector Chris Scahill says Liberty was a perfectly ordinary girl, who moved to Auckland with her parents a couple of weeks ago and came back at the weekend to visit friends.
Police say she had been walking around Kerikeri earlier with friends and the alarm was raised after she failed to meet a friend on Saturday evening.
Police want to hear from anyone who saw Liberty walking along Inlet Road, Cobham Road, or Hone Heke Road on Saturday evening. She is described as European, with long straight dark hair and blue eyes.
Mr Scahill told Checkpoint on Monday investigators are still trying to establish Liberty's exact movements, and police are speaking to her friends and associates.
He says a team of 30 police are working on the investigation, which is challenging because of the terrain around where Liberty was found.