Death of woman found in ditch not suspicious

Police tents where a woman's body was found in a stormwater ditch north of Napier. Photo / Duncan Brown

Polcie are no longer treating the death of a woman found in a roadside drain near Napier yesterday as suspicious.

A preliminary post-mortem was carried out on the body of Gillian Reynolds today, but has not been able to determine a cause of death.

Detective Sergeant Daryl Moore said there were no obvious injuries to the woman and further tests would be required to determine how she died.

The matter was now before the coroner to determine the cause of death.

The body of Ms Reynolds, 47, was found not far from her home.

She was well-known to many locals and was often seen out walking her dog.

Police at the Main Road scene yesterday said there was no indication of injury to suggest she had been struck by a vehicle or attacked in any way.

Ms Reynolds' mud-smeared body was discovered, lying on her back, by a man cycling to work at a nearby service station. She was clearly visible and had been wearing black jeans, a T-shirt and jacket. She was not wearing shoes.

She had last been seen, walking her dog, about 7pm on Tuesday night.

Her body was found in the metre-deep ditch, which had a small amount of water in it, about 200m north of the Rogers Rd turn-off.

- Herald Online, APNZ