Police have confirmed a 37-year-old man Queenstown man found dead inside a partly submerged car in Lake Wakatipu yesterday was a diabetic earlier reported missing.
The body of local man Glenn Simon (37) was recovered yesterday afternoon from a green 2010 Ford Fiesta off the Glenorchy-Queenstown Rd, directly east of Pig Island.
The vehicle appeared to have been heading towards Glenorchy and left the highway as the road veered to the right.
Bush was flattened where the vehicle had descended left, down a steep embankment.
The car was visible beneath the water, about 15m below road level.
The body was taken by coastguard boat to Sunshine Bay, Queenstown, then transported by road to Lakes District Hospital.
It will be taken to Invercargill for a postmortem.
Senior Sergeant John Fookes, of Queenstown, said there was one occupant in the vehicle.
A serious crash investigator was expected to arrive from Alexandra later yesterday afternoon.
"The circumstances will be a matter for the coroner," he said.
Sunday night's police statement, by Sergeant Dean Murray, said it was understood Mr Simon had been driving on Frankton Rd, heading towards Queenstown, about 7.30pm.
"It is believed Mr Simon currently has a lowered blood-sugar level, or hypoglycemia, which in some cases can lead from confusion and disorientation to seizures and unconsciousness," Sgt Murray said in the statement.
Snr Sgt Fookes said yesterday: "When we were notified he was missing, police and volunteers spent several hours searching around Queenstown as the last place we knew him to be - Frankton Rd in the vicinity of Goldfield Heights."
"A couple of dozen" police, firefighters and coastguard personnel, plus volunteers, were involved in a co-ordinated search, which was extended along the main roads into Queenstown, out to Sunshine Bay, towards Glenorchy and out to near Arrowtown.
Taxi firms and service stations were alerted, Snr Sgt Fookes said.
Air and lake searches were carried out until the crew of a Heliworks helicopter spotted the submerged vehicle just after 1pm yesterday.
The car is expected to be removed from the lake today.
