Man washed off rocks near Raglan likely dead

The search for a missing Hamilton fisherman south of Raglan will resume on Saturday.

Police believe a fisherman missing off Raglan since Monday is probably dead.

The 67-year-old Hamilton man was swept off rocks by a large wave while fishing at Papanui Pt, south of Raglan at Ruapuke on Monday.

A search on Tuesday and Wednesday failed to find anything, but searchers will go out again tomorrow.

Sergeant Vince Ranger today said they would be looking for a body.

"We're looking for a deceased person. We will go out tomorrow and search that wider area and depending on how we get on we will do that by air and land and just continue doing it until we get some sort of result."

The searchers will involve teams from Waikato Police search and rescue, Raglan Coastguard and Coastguard Air Patrol.

Ranger said they know the movement of the currents, which would guide efforts to try and establish how far his body may have travelled.

He thanked locals who had volunteered to keep an eye out for the missing man.

"We lucky the residents out there, they often use the beach. We've got people locally there who are looking out for him as well."

Anyone with information about the missing man is asked to phone Ranger at Hamilton police on (07) 858 6200.