MEDIA RELEASE
WAIKATO POLICE DISTRICT
07 August 2007
The search for the body of 17-year-old man, Te Wairua Waiariki, who disappeared after diving into a river at Ngaruawahia on June 29 continues and Police are asking farmers with paddocks bordering the Waikato River to continue looking along river banks for signs of his body.
Mr Waiariki had jumped into the water where the Waikato and Waipa rivers meet, commonly known as 'The Point', after a short Police chase and has not been seen since.
Sergeant Blair Donaldson of Huntly Police said searchers were no closer in finding his body and Police fear it may be trapped by debris in the river.
"River levels are still very, very high and don't appear to have abated since late June and in fact levels appear to have increased.
"We're asking again for farmers whose paddocks back on to the Waikato River to please keep looking on the banks in the hope that the body is released," he said.
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