Police investigate dead cyclist in river

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Police are investigating how an elderly cyclist came to be found floating face-down in a Christchurch river this morning.

The man, aged 60-70, was believed to have been walking near the river in a "dazed'' state the night before officers fished him from the brackish water.

His body was discovered by police at 8.30am today in Heathcote River between Rutherford and Connal streets, just metres from a black mountain bike they believed might be his.

A cordon has been placed around the riverside, including the grassy banks and path that runs through it, which is popular with joggers, cyclists and dogwalkers.

Today, there was a highly visible presence of both plain-clothed and uniformed officers combing the area.

Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey said that while the man had no obvious injuries, it was still unclear how he died. He said there was nothing at this stage to suggest his death was suspicious.

The body was removed from the river early this afternoon.

Police are trying to establish who the man is after he was found without any identification on him.

Mr Harvey described the man as caucasian, solid build, grey tidy hair, clean shaven, with "big, bushy eyebrows''.

He was found wearing a red and gold cycle helmet and a brown checked shirt.

Speaking on the banks of the river in the Woolston suburb of Christchurch, near where the body was found, Detective Senior Sergeant Harvey said: "We're really trying to identify just who he could be with the limited information we have.

"We found a relatively new mountain bike, which was left just up here (on the grassy river bank) and we wonder if it was associated with him because he had a cycle helmet on.''

The detective said their description fitted that of a man seen walking along Rutherford Street in a dazed state around 10pm last night.

He appealed for anyone who saw the man fitting the description to come forward.