Body of missing man Joe Pryor, 63, found north of Wellington

Kāpiti man Joe Pryor. Photo / File

The body of Raumati Beach local and family man Joe Pryor who went missing on November 26 has been found today.

The police said a body was found this morning near Reikorangi, Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast north of Wellington.

Shortly afterwards, the family issued a statement confirming the body of Pryor had been found today after 15 days of searching.

"Unfortunately, Joe has passed away. We wanted to thank everyone in this community who shared the posts, printed the flyers and gave us valuable information. This mammoth effort surely aided our search and is what led us to him in the end.

"Joe was a wonderful, gentle, kind man who was loved so much by everyone who knew him. Through these two weeks we, the family and support team, have been through an extremely difficult time but recognise and continue to recognise the overwhelming love and kindness that we received from this group in New Zealand and around the world. Take care and thank you."

The family asked for privacy to grieve the loss at this time and turned off comments on a Facebook page.

Police had said earlier they were not in a position to provide any further details until formal identification and a post-mortem examination had taken place.

A spokesman for Fire and Emergency NZ said they had assisted police today in the Waikanae area.

Pryor, aged 63, was last seen on November 26 after leaving his workplace.

His last confirmed sighting was at 8.45am on the day he went missing on Elizabeth St, Waikanae.

Shortly beforehand, Pryor was spotted on CCTV footage from the Waikanae Chartered Club at 8.22am wearing blue overalls and his Travelmarvel backpack.

Pryor's daughter Shannon Barclay told the Herald five days ago her dad's disappearance was out of character for him because he was a stickler for routines, a homebody, and didn't often leave his workplace during work hours.

The family said the local community have shown their support in the masses, with hundreds of people across the Wellington region coming together to search in Waikanae, the location where Pryor was last seen.