The culprit behind the dumping of a full-sized chest freezer full of vacuum packed meat by the Clive River might never be found.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council staff say unless a member of the public comes forward with information it'll be shelved as a cold case.
The freezer was discovered by a long-term resident of Clive on her daily walk past a memorial seat on the Ferry Rd walkway on Wednesday.
"People are always dumping rubbish around the area," she said.
"It [the freezer] was not a pleasant sight."
The regional council's works group overseer, Lee Christison, said the clean-up took several guys.
The dumping of the meat and the freezer could be grounds for an infringement fine of $750.
Council's team leader of pollution response, Mike Alebardi, said a standard infringement fine for dumping rubbish is $450.
"The penalties would be a fine of the cost for council guys to clean it up and dispose of it, and they could also face enforcement action such as an infringement.
"Unfortunately, it's unlikely that we'll be able to find them unless someone from the public comes forward with information."