Missing Wairarapa man Ben Fox found dead in the Mangatere Valley, death referred to corner

A man reported missing this week near Carterton has been found dead.

Police on Saturday afternoon confirmed the body of Ben Fox had been found in the Mangatere Valley area.

“We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the volunteers and LandSAR who contributed to the search,” police said in a statement.

“Our thanks also go to a number of our community who gave their time to assist.”

Police have referred the death to the coroner, the statement said.

56-year-old Ben Fox, also known as Sam, missing since Wednesday, has been found dead. Police earlier released this image of his Subaru as part of their search.

Fox, aged 56 and also known as Sam, was last seen on Wednesday about 9.30am.

His family alerted police after his car was found on Mangaterere Valley Rd about 10.20pm.

Since he went missing, temperatures in the area dipped as low as 4.8C and 2C, according to MetService’s past weather records.