KEY POINTS:
Police are looking through missing persons lists to identify a skeleton which was inside a car found 100m over a Bay of Plenty cliff.
A pig hunter discovered the extensively damaged dark red or bronze Mark III Ford Cortina Ghia in bushland below State Highway 5, which links Rotorua and Hamilton, at 8.50am yesterday.
Detective Sergeant Kevan Verry said police believed the skeleton was male based on clothing in the car.
Police had been provided with the name of a man who went missing in the region about 20 years ago but Mr Verry was reluctant to name him out of fear of giving family members false hope.
Mr Verry suspected the car had crashed over the steep bluff as it drove downhill around a series of bends, but nothing could be certain without knowing the background of the person inside. It was hoped that an autopsy would be held tomorrow to find out the sex and approximate age of the remains.
Police hoped the car description would prompt someone's memory.
The dark red or bronze Mark III Ford Cortina Ghia - a model without a vinyl roof - has round headlights and three gold stripes on the side.
Anyone with information is asked to call Tokoroa police on (07) 886 5189.
