Arrest made in McLaren Falls homicide investigation

Mitchell Paterson's body was found in water below the McLaren Falls Bridge on Friday morning.

A man has been charged in connection with the homicide of a Ngāruawāhia man found dead in McLaren Falls.

Mitchell Curtis Rehua Paterson, 26, was found dead in water below the McLaren Falls bridge about 11.30am on Friday.

James Lee Green, 27, of Rangiuru in Western Bay of Plenty, has been charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Paterson by helping dispose of his body in order for another man to avoid arrest.

He also faces an additional charge of driving while disqualified at Cambridge on Friday.

The document also names another man believed to be a "party to murder" whom the Herald believes police are still seeking.

Green is understood to have been arrested during an Armed Offenders Squad raid on a Pohutukawa Dr, Hamilton, property on Sunday evening, along with two other men who also appeared in the Hamilton District Court this afternoon.

Police at the McLaren Falls Bridge near Tauranga where Mitchell Paterson's was found in the water early Friday. Photo / File

The second man arrested in the raid was 52-year-old Leon Colin Wilson from Hamilton. He faces charges of presenting a firearm against a member of police and unlawful possession of a loaded sawn-off shotgun.

Grant Wickins, a 33-year-old Hamilton man, was also arrested on an outstanding warrant from Dargaville District Court. He was remanded in custody overnight without plea to reappear tomorrow.

The Pohutukawa Dr house remained under police guard today.

Police had also set up a caravan outside the property and cordoned off the house as they carried out their inquiries.

Police have not responded to Herald requests for comment.