Police have today confirmed the body found in a silver Ford Ranger pulled from a Waikato lake was 42-year-old missing mother-of-three Kim Richmond.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Patterson said Ms Richmond's body was found inside the ute which was recovered from Lake Arapuni on Thursday.
The identification of the Arohena woman was confirmed after a post-mortem was carried out late yesterday.
Mr Patterson said police had commenced work to confirm the exact cause of death.
"The investigation team will continue to make enquiries in relation to Ms Richmond's disappearance on July 31, 2016," he said.