Body of missing South Otago man found

Ian Fullerton Mathieson. Photo / Otago Daily Times

A missing 79-year-old South Otago man has been found dead in a paddock.

Police said Ian Fullerton Mathieson was found by tracking dogs last night in a farm paddock near Monaghan Rd in Balclutha.

He had been missing for just under a week.

Search efforts - including three helicopters, specialist search dogs and LandSAR crews - scoured farmland near Balclutha for any signs of the man since his disappearance on July 22.

Mr Mathieson's wife reported her husband missing about 1am on Thursday last week, when the Clinton Lions Club member failed to return from his meeting on Wednesday night.

He had been spotted twice on Wednesday night and police believed Mr Mathieson, a diabetic with "ageing issues", had become disoriented and was lost on his way home.

A farmer near Carterhope Rd later noticed Mr Mathieson's car stuck in the mud in one of his paddocks, with footprints leading away from the car.

Sergeant Martin Bull said the death was not being treated as suspicious and the matter had been referred to the coroner.

"Mr Mathieson's family have been advised and our thoughts are with them tonight," he said.