Officers including a dog unit scoured St Clair beach yesterday afternoon but the offender had apparently fled the scene, which has become a hot-spot for reports of nudity and men performing indecent acts in the dunes.
A police spokesman said they received reports shortly before 2pm of a man "masturbating in bushes near the beach,'' near Kettle Park and Moana Rua Rd, off Victoria Rd.
He was described as being in his 50s, of average height and solid build.
"The informant said the man appeared to be naked, but could not be sure,'' the spokesman said.
A 44-year-old man was arrested earlier this month following two complaints of indecent exposure in the St Clair Esplanade area.
Sergeant John Hedges, of Dunedin, said at the time police were investigating whether the man may have been responsible for the several other complaints in the area in recent months.
Late last year, a woman who saw a man performing a lewd act near St Clair said the same man had weeks earlier exposed himself to her daughter on the beach.
The woman said she feared the popular beach was not safe for children while he remained at large, describing him as being in his early 30s, about 1.68m tall with black hair.
Dunedin police received a slew of reports last year of men performing lewd acts in the area of St Kilda and St Clair Beaches, as well as at the Dunedin Botanic Garden.
