More than two months after he was last seen, 20 police staff are still working full time on the disappearance of Palmerston North man Brett Hall.
Mr Hall, 47, was last seen around the end of May at his lifestyle block north of Wanganui, and after an intensive search withoutany sign of him police are now treating the case as a homicide.
Mr Hall's past was described by police as "chequered".
He was paroled from prison in 2009 after serving a sentence of seven-and-a-half years for dealing "a variety of drugs'', receiving and unlawfully possessing a pistol.
Central districts police spokeswoman Kim Perks said today that despite no sign of Mr Hall's body or finding anyone responsible for his disappearance, the investigation was not being put on the backburner.
"It's still enough to keep 20 staff fully occupied,'' Ms Perks said.
However, there were no new aspects of the inquiry police were willing to publicise since appeals were made for information at the end of June, she said.
Ms Perks would not say if police had any suspects in the case.
