Waioweka River search: Body found in hunt for missing Bay of Plenty man David Roe

A body has been recovered from the Waioweka River in the search for a missing Bay of Plenty man.

David Roe, 52, had been missing since January 23 after falling from a boat while crossing the river near the junction of Waiata Stream, near Ōpōtiki.

Eastern Bay of Plenty area commander Inspector Nicky Cooney said police recovered a body from the Waioweka River about 9am on Tuesday.

“This has been a long slow search, hindered at times by the weather as well as impacted by the slips on SH2,” Cooney said.

The inspector thanked those who assisted in the search effort, in particular Land SAR volunteers, local jet boat and helicopter operators, and iwi.

The formal identification process is underway and the death has been referred to the coroner.

Police had been called to the scene in January after reports a man had fallen from a boat and been swept downstream.

The vessel was found nearby while initial search efforts for Roe involved helicopters and jet boats.

A family member said the father of four had been crossing the river by boat to return home for dinner and the family had remained at their property in the Waioweka Gorge near to the incident.

Crossings by boat were necessary at the time because of damage to a nearby swing bridge.

Roe had lived in the area with his youngest son and wife since July last year and was said to be familiar with the river.

He was well-known in the Bay of Plenty business community as the founder and investor of Inversehair, a sub-zero cordless hairstyling tool.

A Givealittle page was set up to support the family.