KEY POINTS:
Police are confident they will identify the 20-year-old remains of a man found in the Waitakeres, but need help from anyone who recognises clothing he was wearing at the time.
Pictures of the shoes, jacket and two tops have been issued in the hope it will speed up the process of identifying the remains, found by four pig hunters two weeks ago, less than 1km from the Arataki visitors' centre.
Detective Sergeant Roger Small said several other items found with the remains might also help in the identification process, including keys for a Mitsubishi car and a Suzuki motorcycle.
Police have been able to establish that the man was aged between 25 and 50, muscular and between 172 and 174cm tall. Coins and a coke bottle found near the body indicate the man died between 1987 and 1992.
That description and dates match several files in the national missing persons database.
Mr Small said police were working their way through those cases but hoped to narrow the possibilities down before approaching families.
"We have got a very large list of possible people it could be. What we don't have on all of those files is dental records.
"I'm hoping we can get somebody that recognises the clothing and comes forward."
Mr Small said the police did not want to raise the hopes of each of those families so they had released the new information in a bid to narrow down the list.
If a possible match was made police would then go to the next stage of trying to match any dental records or DNA to the remains.
Mr Small said the man's death was not being treated as suspicious.
Anyone with information shouldcontact Detective Sergeant Roger Small at the Henderson police station on (09) 839- 0663.
MISSING PERSON
* Would have gone missing between 1987 and 1992.
* 172-174 cm tall, muscular build, aged 25-50.
* An asthmatic smoker.
* Had keys believed to be for a Mitsubishi car and a Suzuki motorcycle. Also had a Legge or Underwood backdoor key.
* Remains were clothed in a brown bomber-style jacket, a checked shirt with a Chinese-style collar, a green sweatshirt, black and white adidas shoes and long trousers which were most likely jeans.
