By SCOTT INGLIS and GREGG WYCHERLEY
The woman jogger who disappeared near Hastings yesterday morning has been found dead in a car.
Police believe Margaret Baxter, aged 38, of Wellington, was hit by a car while jogging along Stock Rd, on the outskirts of Hastings.
A witness reported seeing a woman's body being
loaded into a dark car yesterday morning.
Ms Baxter had been jogging with her partner when the pair split up about 10.30 am.
The man returned to the house they were staying at. When Ms Baxter had not returned about 30 minutes later, he went in search of her.
After he found her running shoes in Stock Rd, he called police.
Late last night police charged a 23-year-old Hastings man with murder.
A resident of Stock Rd, Graham Tasker, said police cordoned off the road.
Ms Baxter's shoes were found outside his house, he said.
"They did a grid search from one end of the road down to Equestrian Lane and a helicopter flew over and did a search as well."
Police sought help from the public as they tried to piece together Ms Baxter's movements.
They searched several areas around Hawkes Bay but the main focus of the early part of their investigation was on Stock Rd, between Flaxmere and Bridge Pa.
"In Hawkes Bay terms it's a reasonably busy road," said Senior Sergeant Greg Bradshaw. "It's sort of a feeder into the suburb, so we've had lots of people ringing in and we're just putting bits and pieces together to try to make a picture."
People at a nearby car rally reported seeing Ms Baxter jogging. Others also noticed a dark-coloured car parked on Stock Rd about the time she disappeared.
Last night, police seized a dark car, which was taken to Hastings police station on a truck and stored in a garage behind the station.
