'He didn't say much but his bowling spoke for itself': Tauranga man Brian Davies remembered

Brian Davies. Photo / Supplied.

A Tauranga man who died after going missing on Wednesday has been remembered as a "proper gentleman" and "very polite" by those who knew him.

Yesterday, police confirmed Davies' body was found after he was reported missing on Thursday. The 85-year-old was last seen on Wednesday around 11.45am in Matua.

Police said he was likely to be driving a 2016 silver Toyota Corolla and urged residents in the Whakamārama Rd area to check their properties and sheds during the search.

Police said in a statement today there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, which will be referred to the coroner.

The Bay of Plenty Times understands Davies' car was found on Whakamārama Rd.

The Bay of Plenty Times understood his car was left on a narrow section of the road, with a steep bank on one side of the road and a slope down into a driveway on the other.

Peter Erceg came across a car understood to be Davies' at 2am on Thursday.

Tire tracks in the gravel mark the area where Brian Davies' car was believed to be found. Photo / Jean Bell

Erceg, who is from Paeroa and is visiting the daughter of Whakamārama Rd resident Avigayil Weine, said the car was blocking the road and he dragged the car to move it out of the way so he could drive past.

"It was horrible weather. It was raining and there was no visibility," he said.

It appeared the car had attempted a three-point turn but had gotten stuck on the narrow road with one wheel lifted off the road, he said.

He said both doors were shut and there was a phone inside the car, which he handed to police.

Whakamārama Rd resident Avigayil Weine, with whom Peter Erceg is staying, said the road was extremely narrow and one-way where the car got stuck.

"There's barely enough room for two cars to pass," she said.

"There's no signs indicating the side of the road or where the banks are."

Bowls Matua president Cliff Osbourne said Davies had been a former member who left the club in 2016 and was remembered fondly by those at the club.

"He was a proper gentleman - very polite and a great bowler," Osbourne said.

"He didn't say much but his bowling spoke for itself."