Body found on Napier beach was male, police confirm

Police have confirmed a body found on a Napier beach on Friday night was male.

Emergency services were called to the beach adjacent to the former Winstones Aggregates site on State Highway 2, Awatoto, Napier, at 8.35pm.

The body had been found on the beach, possibly washed ashore, by a member of the public.

Police said on Friday the body could not be linked to missing French tourist Pierre Antoine Paludet, who was last seen in Haumoana more than one week ago.

This morning, Detective Senior Sergeant Martin James of the Hawke's Bay CIB said a post mortem had been completed in Wellington yesterday and the body was yet to be formally identified, but police were confident there were no suspicious circumstances.

By Friday last week, a team from the Hawke's Bay CIB had established that Mr Paludet and his vehicle were likely in the carpark from Wednesday, January 10, 2018.

They were first alerted to his disappearance when local residents called police after noticing a build-up of rubbish and his car seemingly abandoned.

He was last seen in the carpark early in the evening on Friday 12 January.

Searches of the area, both on land and in the surrounding water, had failed to locate Mr Paludet.

Detective Senior Seargeant Martin James said police were continuing to liaise with his France-based family who were increasingly worried about him; his lack of contact with them described as completely out of character.

Yesterday one policeman was stationed at the Domain carpark in Haumoana speaking to residents after police urged anyone to come forward to speak to them in person.