A man found dead in the Waikato River on Thursday evening was the victim of foul play, police believe.
The body of John Wirihana Isaac, 52, was found about 7pm on Thursday by a group who had taken their boat to the river near Ngāruawāhia, Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Patterson said.
“The men who located him did an outstanding job by getting Mr Isaac to the riverbank at Ngāruawāhia, where a Police boat and Search and Rescue team were able to recover him,” the detective said.
Patterson said police had launched a homicide inquiry after examining the results of an autopsy.