Body found in Clutha River identified as missing man Wayne Hammond

The body located in the Clutha River last week has been officially identified as Alexandra man Wayne Hammond. Photo / Supplied

The body located in the Clutha River last week has been officially identified as Alexandra man Wayne Hammond.

The body was found on November 17 after extensive searches in the area.

A police spokesperson said they continue to make inquiries in relation to his death on behalf of the coroner who will release their findings in due course.

"While Police managed the search for Wayne, the support and expertise we received from our partner organisations, including Coastguard and Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR), was both overwhelming and significant," said Sergeant Derek Ealson.

"We know many of those involved in these organisations are volunteers who took time off from their paid employment to look for Wayne and we want to take the opportunity to say thank you - both on behalf of Police, Wayne's family and the community."

Volunteers from Coastguard Clyde & Wanaka Lakes undertook more than 200 hours of searching and incident management over the three-week period, supporting Police and LandSAR.

"Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Wayne at this difficult time," Coastguard Clyde President James Robinson said.

"Although it's not the outcome we had hoped for, I'd like to extend my thanks to the many volunteers across the region who gave up their own time to help bring Wayne back to his family."

Wayne Hammond. Photo / Supplied

The spokesperson said LandSAR contributed a significant resource with field teams from Central Otago, Queenstown and Dunedin as well as a swiftwater team and incident management support.

"This amounted to 994 hours contributed by 83 dedicated people," said Eric Schusser, Central Otago LandSAR Incident Management Team Coordinator.

"As with all small rural communities, a number of our searchers knew, or had connections to Wayne's family and we want to acknowledge this had an additional impact on them."

Ngāi Tahu has placed a rāhui on the Clutha River for seven days which started on Monday.

The rāhui is in place from Clyde Bridge through to the Roxburgh Dam.