Family relieved as body removed from bush

The sister of missing Paraparaumu man Raymond Piper says the family are relieved his body appears to have been found today, after police were tipped off four months after the young father disappeared from the home of his ex-partner.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Oxnam said police "received information" which led them to a body in a shallow grave in an area of bush in the Maungakotukutuku Valley, near Paraparaumu, about 9am.

"We received information that has led to us locating a body, which has been exhumed from a grave which had about two feet of soil above."

With four people facing charges over the case, he would not reveal where the information came from.

He said the body would hopefully be formally identified at a post-mortem tomorrow, but "common sense" suggested it was Mr Piper.

Police, pathologists and forensic scientists spent most of today at the site, exhuming the grave and examining the scene as members of Mr Piper's family looked on.

Mr Piper's sister, Aroha, wept as she told assembled media that the family were "pleased" with the discovery, and thanked police for their work and friends and family for their support.

"Our family is pleased to get Son home, even though he is not coming back to us alive. All we wanted was to have Son's body's back so we could give him his final resting place."

"Today we have mixed emotions. We are so happy to get Son home but we will never forget Son. Our lives will never be the same again."

She asked for privacy so they could grieve for "our son, our brother, our partner and our dad".

"Rest in peace ... we love you."

Mr Oxnam said the family had been waiting since May 15 for the breakthrough in a "lengthy, complex investigation". It was through public assistance that police were able to solve such cases, he said.

"To be able to give the body back to Raymond's whanau, there's a lot of satisfaction we get out of that."

Local kaumatua were also present today, to bless the site.

Mr Piper, 23, went missing from the home of his former partner, Hanna Lark, in Eatwell Avenue, Paraparaumu Beach on May 15. They have a three-year-old son.

Ainsley Brent Anderson, 51, unemployed, and Louie Anderson, 17, have been charged with being a party to murder. Susan Bragger, 44, of Paraparaumu, and Sean Hawke, 50, of Tauranga, have been charged with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Piper, between May 15 and June 8.

Bragger is Ms Lark's mother and Hawke is her uncle.

Police earlier seized vehicles they believed to be linked with Mr Piper's disappearance and said he had died a violent death.

In July, Mr Piper's supporters hurled abuse when Bragger and Hawke appeared in the Porirua District Court, where they were granted bail.

Mr Oxnam would not discuss whether any of the four had been helping police with their investigation.

- NZPA