Senior Sergeant Craig Pickering said a police search team have found a body in the search for Karori man Philip Sutton. Video / RNZ
Police have formally identified Karori man Philip Sutton as the person found dead after extreme weather in Wellington this week.
Searchers found Sutton’s body on the South Coast yesterday after he was reported missing amid flooding on Monday.
Search teams, including a dive squad and dog unit, had been searchingfor Sutton, in his 60s, since the start of the week, but searches have been hampered by dangerous conditions.
The South Karori Rd property Sutton was living in was battered and buried in debris after flash flooding swept through the area.
Police today confirmed the body found in the search has been formally identified as Sutton, Wellington District Prevention Manager Inspector Fleur de Bes said.
The search was called off on Monday night and did not resume until 8am on Wednesday, with Tuesday treated as a planning day because of a “lack of visibility, fast-flowing water, really unstable ground, [and] a lot of debris”, Senior Sergeant Craig Pickering earlier said.
Police found a Suzuki Swift registered to Sutton just before 11am today in Karori Stream, about 1km from where it had been parked before flooding started.
His body was found about midday near the mouth of the stream on the South Coast.
Inspector Fleur de Bes said although it was not the outcome anyone wanted, “our thoughts are with his family and friends at this awful time”.
Pickering said police were still recovering Philip’s body and “working through that with coronial services”.
Inspector Fleur de Bes and Senior Sergeant Craig Pickering given an update at the rural Karori search scene. Photo / Tobias Macintosh
“The floodwaters hit very rapidly, very quickly, with ferocious strength,” he said.
“We do our best to piece together how he’s come to be where he is with the floodwaters.
“There was a number of items that we located during the search,” Pickering said, with debris travelling down the Karori stream due to the flash flooding.
The devastated South Karori Rd property where Philip Sutton was living. Photo / Billy Paine
Sutton, a Karori local, worked for NZ Post, with a spokesman for the organisation saying it was supporting its staff through the situation.
“Our thoughts are with our colleague, their family, friends and loved ones in this very difficult situation. We are also supporting our team in Wellington,” chief operating officer Brendon Main said.
