Police release images in bid to find out how Rotorua man died

The bike belonging to Richard Hoani Herekiuha. Photo / Supplied

A series of images of a bike and helmet belonging to a deceased man have been released by police in a bid to find out how he died.

Bay of Plenty man Richard Hoani Herekiuha, 43, was found in the Otamatea Stream, in Rotorua, at approximately 11.30am last Tuesday by a member of the public.

The last confirmed sighting of him prior to that was on Tuesday the previous week at his home.

Helmet belonging to Richard Hoani Herekiuha. Photo / Supplied

In a statement released by police, it is believed the images would help jog the memories of anyone who might have seen Mr Herekiuha in the lead up to his death.

"Mr Herekiuha always used his bike to travel around Rotorua, and it is hoped the images will refresh the memories of people in the community who may not have known Mr Herekiuha but would have seen him around town."

Phone calls have been received by police from members of the community wanting to help with the investigation however, there is still a gap of five to six days between the last sighting of Mr Herekiuha and the discovery of his body in the stream.

Mr Herekiuha's bike was found close to the track running alongside the stream the previous day.

Police are unsure how long the bike had been there but it is believed it would likely have been visible to users of the track.

Detective Senior Sergeant Zane Smith said it was important to establish his movements in order for police to understand how he died.

"Although we provisionally know how Mr Herekiuha died, we need to piece together his movements over the past week before we can draw any conclusions about the circumstances," he said.

"We have CCTV footage which shows him at Pak'n Save on the morning of Tuesday, 19th May and this is the last confirmed sighting.

"We ask that people study this image and cast their minds back over the last week to any sightings or information that might assist us."

Police have appealed to the public for any information regarding the whereabouts of Mr Herekiuha in the lead up to his death.

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