Police have widened their search for Whanganui woman Marice McGregor to the Manawatu after evidence her cellphone was switched on in the region a day after she vanished.

The family of a woman missing for 12 days say they are going through a "slow living nightmare" as police admit something untoward may have happened to her.

Police investigating the disappearance of a Whanganui woman 12 days ago are seriously concerned "something untoward" has happened to her and are appealing for sightings of a green van.

The family of a Wanganui woman who went missing in mysterious circumstances 11 days ago has asked the public for information.

A man's dead body has been recovered from a car found submerged in a Waikato canal.

Friends of missing yachtie Paul van Rensburg accept he is dead and have called off the search.

Police say a GPS device could provide vital information about what happened to missing yachtie Paul van Rensburg.

Maritime New Zealand has defended its decision to call off the search for missing "ghost ship" yachtie Paul Van Rensburg after three days.

Friends of missing yachtie Paul Janse van Rensburg are "shattered" he wasn't found aboard his yacht but are still holding out some hope he may be alive.

A 26-year-old painter accused of the murder of Harold Skudder had his name suppression lifted when he reappeared in court today.