Mystery of dead woman's identity solved

A sign marks the area where the woman's body was found. Photo / Christine Cornege

A four-day search for a dead cyclist's identity has finally been resolved.

The body of a woman found in a Hamilton stream on Sunday was identified this morning.

She was found dead in knee-deep water on Sunday by two teenagers taking a break from their church service at Hamilton Central Baptist.

Detective Senior Sergeant Karl Thornton, of Hamilton, said police had been contacted overnight by a family who believed the woman could be a member of their whanau.

"This morning about 10am a positive identification was made and we're currently trying to locate family members from outside our district to inform them.

"At this stage all I can say is the woman is 40 years old, Maori, from Hamilton. She had been with family members on Saturday night prior to the accident that claimed her life."

Mr Thornton said the woman's family had become concerned when they had not heard from her and were unable to locate her so contacted police.

Mr Thornton had earlier said it was very unusual that it had been taking so long to identify a body.

Chief Coroner Judge Neil MacLean told the Herald the case was unusual given that the body had been found within a day and had strong visual clues. Mr MacLean said it was more common for authorities to struggle when the remains were damaged in an accident.

Before the positive identification coroners nationwide believed the woman was the only unidentified body in the country.

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: Isaac Davison