KEY POINTS:
Police hope a post mortem today on a body found on a West Coast beach will pinpoint the cause of his death.
Tourists stopping to view the scenery near Meybille Bay, 5km north of Punakaiki, discovered the man's naked body at the high tide mark about 11am yesterday.
Police have been unable to identify the body and are seeking public help in reporting any people who have gone missing recently.
Detective Constable Graham Parsons, of Greymouth police, said the man's identity and recent movements were a total mystery.
He is described as a Caucasian aged about 30, with olive skin, about 170cm tall, and of stocky build. He had short brown hair and was unshaven with a goatee-style beard.
Mr Parsons said no one matching that description had been reported missing recently on the West Coast.
Police had confirmed the body was not that of a Blenheim man with suicidal tendencies who disappeared this week.
No indications of foul play had been found at the beach where the body was discovered.
The body had been at the high tide mark "but whether he was put there or washed up...there's a number of avenues we're exploring", Mr Parsons said.
"We're obviously keeping an open mind, but he had no obvious injuries to indicate that he'd been attacked or beaten," he said.
"It was a clean body for all intents and purposes as to his physical appearance."
Fingerprints had been taken from the body and were being checked against the police database.
"But that's only useful if a person has been in trouble with police and we have their fingerprints in our system," he said.
Police were appealing for any information regarding missing people.
Mr Parsons said the post mortem would hopefully provide some clues to the man's death, but results from toxicology and other tests might take days.
- NZPA
