A post mortem tomorrow on the body found floating in a West Auckland stream will hopefully determine its identity and cause of death, say police.
Until then they are not saying much about the body, recovered this evening from the waterway off Millbrook Rd, Henderson.
"We have got it out, but that's probably about it. We have frozen the scene down and secured it for overnight. There will be a post mortem examination in the morning," Detective Senior Sergeant Stan Brown said.
The body was spotted about 2pm today by a passer-by, floating in the water, head down at the bottom of a steep eight-metre bank.
Although it was floating close to the bank, police were careful about recovering it, to ensure any possible forensic evidence on the bank was not destroyed.
It was far too early to speculate on a cause of death or whether it might be a suspicious death or an accident, Mr Brown said.
He could not say whether the person was a man or a woman or how long they may have been in the water.
Nor would he speculate on the person's identity.
"We have got a few possibilities. Because of the next of kin issue we have to locate a couple of people to let them know," he said.
One of the more publicised missing person cases in Auckland is that of Indian student Srikanth Rayadurgam, 23, who was last seen on October 1.
His wallet and some clothes were found the following morning on Westhaven Marina, about 20km away from where the body was found today.
His family fear he has been the victim of foul play.
