KEY POINTS:
A decomposed body found in Mid Canterbury has been identified as that of a hunter missing since last winter.
Corey Foster, 24, of Ashburton, went missing during a hunting trip last June.
His body was found in the Avoca Valley, near Lake Coleridge, last week by a local helicopter pilot.
It was recovered on Saturday and has been positively identified as Mr Foster, Constable Dave Pitkethley said today.
Mr Foster's family had been notified.
He failed to return to meet his fiance, Rachel Pawsey, at the Avoca Hut on June 3.
When he hadn't returned by noon the following day, Ms Pawsey, as arranged earlier with Mr Foster, drove for more than four hours on an off-road track to raise the alarm.
Intensive searches in the Avoca Valley beyond Lake Coleridge by teams of volunteers using dogs and supported by an air force Iroquois helicopter failed to find any trace of Mr Foster.
Police called off the search in bitterly cold snowy conditions after seven days.
- NZPA
