A man who rang his wife while out fishing yesterday to say he would be late home because of a propeller problem was later found drowned, Thames police said today.
He was Mark Mander, 43, of Ngarimu Bay, 10km north of Thames.
Police said Mr Mander had gone fishing in the Firth of Thames in a well-equipped 4m boat yesterday.
At 5.30pm, he phoned home to say a rope had jammed around the propeller of his vessel.
When his wife rang back and could not contact him, she became concerned and notified police around 7pm.
A search by the Thames coastguard found Mr Mander's boat at anchor with no one on board.
At 9.30pm, a further search located his body, with lifejacket on, about 1km away.
- NZPA
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