Mahurangi Harbour missing boatie: Police find body on shoreline

A body has been found in the search for a man in his 60s in the Mahurangi Harbour. Photo / Creative Commons

Police searching for a missing boatie in the Mahurangi Harbour have found a body on the shoreline, north of Auckland.

The body was located a couple of kilometres south of Scotts Landing in the Mahurangi Scenic Reserve.

The boatie, a man in his 60s, went missing from the Mahurangi Harbour after last being seen on Thursday night.

Auckland Police Inspector Peter Raynes said police were notified last night that the man, who lives on a boat in the Mahurangi Harbour, failed to turn up to work yesterday.

Police began searching last night and resumed the search this morning.

Police were earlier appealing for sightings of a grey dinghy.

"The man's boat remains in the Mahurangi Harbour, but a search last night of his boat and other boats in the area has failed to locate the man, who's aged in his 60s," Raynes said this morning.

His grey dinghy, which was usually tethered to the boat, had also been missing.

An aerial search was carried out last night by the Police Eagle helicopter and resumed today with the Coastguard.

"A water search was conducted last night involving the Police Maritime Unit and Coastguard Kawau, and the Maritime Unit are resuming their search this morning," Raynes said.

The Police National Dive Squad was also preparing to assist in the search.

The grey dinghy was described as 2.4 m to 3m long [8-10 feet] with an outboard motor, in the Mahurangi Harbour, Kawau Bay or Whangaparāoa Bay areas.

Police said the death would be referred to the Coroner and formal identification would take place to confirm the identity of the deceased.