Man found dead by service station named

Auckland police have named the man who was found dead behind a Western Springs, Auckland, service station early on Sunday morning.

He was Kevin Ernest Patterson, 48, from Western Springs.

Mr Patterson had been reported to police as missing on November 25 and was last seen alive by a friend the day before.

Police communications spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said after a post-mortem examination this morning, police have ruled out a suspicious death.

Mr Patterson was believed to have been behind the service station for a number of days before being discovered about 3am yesterday by a person who had stepped into bushes to go to the toilet.

- NZPA