Focus Live: Tramper Darren Myers’ body found in Tararua Rangers.
A body has been found in the search for missing tramper Darren Myers in the Tararua Range.
Myers has been missing for 11 days after setting out to tramp the Northern Crossing on June 1.
It is believed search and rescue volunteers - who have scoured hundreds of square kilometresin the hopes of finding Myers - have discovered a body they believe to be his.
Police confirmed the body was found during an aerial search, and search and rescue teams are now on their way to the site.
It is expected to take some time to reach the location.
Earlier this week, Sergeant Tony Matheson said the search team still held hopes of finding him alive after coming across two clues to his whereabouts - a chocolate bar wrapper of the brand he was known to have with him, and some boot prints in the mud on the route near the Arete Bivouac.
Myers, an experienced tramper, set off on the hike on May 28. His last contact was a text message to his wife Kim Shaw on Thursday, May 30.
Myers and Shaw moved to Wellington from Sawbridgeworth, England, 18 months ago.
This morning, brother-in-law Duncan Styles said Myers' family were "preparing for the worst".
Speaking from the search headquarters, he said they had "got to the point where we're quite numb".
Darren Myers. Photo / Supplied
Myers contacted his wife 12 days ago when he texted her to say he'd spent the night in the Arete Bivouac and was moving on to the Tarn Ridge Hut.
Myers was a qualified building surveyor and a keen tramper and mountain biker.
"He's focused on making the most of the time in New Zealand."
Styles described his brother-in-law as "really engaging" and easy to talk to.
He had a "really happy personality" and was always ticking off projects and things to do, "making sure he's seen parts of New Zealand and the rest of the world and making the most of every opportunity he can".
The decision to go tramping in the Tararua Ranges was a last-minute one.
"It was a bit of an out of the blue opportunity for him, he suddenly realised he had a few days to spare."
Myers had the gear and the know-how, but it's believed the weather may have caused it to all go wrong.
"The weather's one of the really big factors in this trip of his and the police have been saying that the wind on Arete Bivvy was approximately 60km/h and then rose to 140km/h, so it was really bad weather up there."
The harsh environment proved unkind to searchers as well, with one volunteer breaking their leg while looking for Myers.
