KEY POINTS:
A Coca Cola bottle and coins have helped police narrow down the year the man went into the Waitakere Ranges in west Auckland and died.
The man's skeletal remains were found by pig hunters in thick bush near the Aritaki Information Centre on February 24 and had probably
been there for up to 20 years.
Police said there was nothing suspicious about his death. He was thought to have taken a large number of pills and killed himself.
His identity has been a mystery since his body was found but police said they now had a list of about 20 names after information from the public.
Some of those names had been nominated more than once by different people, said Detective Sergeant Roger Small from the Henderson police.
He said the Coke bottle with the body would have been bought in 1991 or earlier and coins in the man's pockets were dated 1987 - narrowing down the time he went into the bush to between 1987 and 1991.
A second check on dental records had been done but the results were not yet available.
An earlier check on dental records of a named person showed the body was not his, Mr Small said.
He said if the latest dental record check was negative, he would consider going to the families of names on the police list and asking for dental records.
He said police were urging the public to contact them if they had an idea of the body's identity, which was being held at the Auckland mortuary.
"We are still getting people ringing inn on a daily basis and I have fielded 40 or 50 calls and have had 20-odd people nominated by the public.
"There are people out there who have never been reported to us as missing.
"They are estranged from their families, their loved ones, their friends and we may never heard of them. One or two of the names that have come forward are people we do not have a record of being missing.
"They could have disappeared without anybody really noticing which is very sad."
He said it was important for his family he was identified so he had some dignity in death.
The man was between 172cm and 174cm tall, of muscular build, a smoker and an asthmatic.
He wore a brown bomber-style jacket, a chequered shirt with a Chinese-style collar, green sweatshirt, long trousers likely to be jeans and black and white adidas shoes.
In his possession were keys for a Mitsubishi car, a Suzuki motorcycle and a Legge or Underwood back door key.
Mr Small said anyone who might know who the man was should contact him on (09) 839 0663.
- NZPA
