Friends heartbroken at discovery of Dale Watene's body

Family and friends of missing Southland man Dale Watene had been preparing themselves for the worst, but news yesterday a body had been found was "heartbreaking", a close friend of Watene said.

Police found a man's body, which they believed to be Watene, who went missing on April 16 at Longwood Forestry Block.

Otautau resident Adam McColl had been a friend of 40-year-old Watene since the latter moved to Southland 15 years ago.

"Honestly, Dale was a really good person. He was loyal, a hard worker and a good father. He was the kind of guy who you could trust.

"He had his bad points — as everyone does — but he was a good guy in general."

McColl said Watene grew up in Huntly and moved to Otautau when he got a job at a dairy farm.

"He loved farming and trucks and liked to work with the things he loved.

"I remember — I think it was 10 years ago, he had an injury to his foot while he was working but he never slowed down. He did not want anyone to feel sorry for him and did not want to let anyone down. He returned to work as quickly as he could."

Being a good father was another characteristic.

"He was a good father and never let his kids down. He tried his best for his kids."

The last time he spoke to Watene was at the beginning of April.

"He wished me a happy birthday — one week before he went missing.

"It has been extremely hard. We all knew that this kind of news could come. I thought I was ready for this, but the news today . . . it was hard."

Detective Sergeant Chris Lucy said a formal identification process was under way and a post-mortem was set for today.

"We will have a clearer understanding of the circumstances once the post-mortem has been completed."

Police offered their condolences to Watene's family and friends.

Lucy asked anyone with information to contact him on (03) 211 0400 or, alternatively, information could be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.