New Zealand / Waikato

Body found in search for woman missing in Waikato bush

11:34 am on 18 June 2024

Pauline Grey. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police

A body believed to be that of a woman reported missing at the weekend has been found.

Pauline Grey, 67, went missing from the Wairere Falls track on Sunday night after driving her 2016 Mazda 3 hatchback to the waterfall track.

Her jacket was found near the start of the track, between Matamata and Tauranga, police said on Monday.

On Tuesday, they said a body found in the Wairere Falls area on Monday night was believed to be hers.

The body has not yet been recovered, police said, "due to the location and dangerous conditions last night".

"Specialist teams are back in the area this morning in an effort to recover her body," Senior Sergeant Aaron Fraser said in a statement.

"I would like to extend huge thanks to the Land Search and Rescue Teams who were involved in the search, the Rapid Relief Team who fed the staff involved, and local Iwi who are blessing the site this morning.

"I also want to thank the family who have been extensively involved in the search process and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time."

Grey's death was not being treated as suspicious. A rāhui was put in place covering the Wairere Falls Track for the next week.