Possible sighting of missing man Denver Chance in Waihi New World supermarket

Police are investigating a new reported sighting of missing North Shore man Denver Chance who has not been seen or heard from in 11 days.

Police will be reviewing CCTV footage from Waihi New World after a member of the public reported seeing him there twice last week.

It's understood a woman commented on the Help find Denver Facebook page that she had seen someone who looked like Chance on February 25, a day after he went missing.

"I'm a merchandiser who visits New World Waihi and I recall seeing someone who fits Denver's description on Monday, February 25, and Friday, March 1," they said.

"Both days would have been between 10.30am-12pm."

Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie said police were aware of the potential sighting and arrangements had been made to secure and view the CCTV footage.

The 43-year-old was last seen leaving his flat on the North Shore in his red Nissan Skyline (registration LGH476).

Goldie said police are focusing on continuing to gather CCTV footage from the Karaka area and Waikato region, and tracing the car's movements.

Phone and bank cards have not been used since last Sunday. Photo / via Facebook

"We are working through a large amount of CCTV and dash camera footage, and information coming through our 0800 line,' she said.

"We have had a large number of people call us with information and our team of investigators have been working tirelessly to follow these up.

"As part of our inquiries we have also spoken to a large number of friends and associates from his personal and professional lives.

"None of his family or friends that we have spoken to are aware of what his plans were for that evening, so we are urging anyone who may have been in contact with him, or who he spoke to about his plans in the weeks prior to his disappearance, to contact us immediately if they have not done so."

Police are still appealing for any sightings of the car and continue to work with Chance's family and provide them with ongoing support.

"The family are understandably very distressed.

Chance's red Nissan (lower left) was last seen on February 24. Photo / Police

"The type of person he is, is evidenced by all the friends and family that have been out searching for him every single day since he went missing.

"I want to reassure the public that we have a large team of skilled detectives working hard on this case and we are doing everything we can to try and locate him," Goldie said.

Chance appeared to have everything going for him.

He was "a good guy" according to friends who are continuing the search for their mate.

Chance, a "happy and into his health and fitness" kind of guy was an entrepreneur with two businesses - one importing motorcycle gear.

He had travelled extensively in the past few years including to friend Gary Hoff's wedding in Mexico, island hopping in Fiji and Tahiti, visits to the United States, South America, England and Ireland, to name a few.

But he hasn't been seen since telling his friend and flatmate he was popping out for an hour, about 3.30pm that Sunday.

What happened after that is unclear but Chance never returned to the Mairangi Bay house.

Three days later on February 27 Chance was reported missing.

Police began a manhunt, trawling through CCTV and dashcam footage to find a glimpse of Chance's unique red Nissan Skyline heading south on Auckland's Southern Motorway near Drury at 4.17pm that same Sunday.

Another CCTV sighting released yesterday puts Chance's car 108km away in Waihi at 5.30pm, under the 1hr 22 minutes Google Maps recommends it takes to make the drive.

Police say the car was seen heading south, yet Chance's mobile phone pinged a cellphone tower in the Irwin Rd area, near Karaka in South Auckland, between 11pm and 12am that same night.

So where was Chance's car being driven to in such a hurry that early evening and was it Chance behind the wheel?

His mother Paula McGregor and one of his sisters, Ginny, who has returned from the US to help look for her brother, are at a loss as to what might have happened to their son and brother.

They say it is completely out of character for the "gentle giant" not to be in contact.

On the day Chance disappeared, his car was driven through the town where his mother and stepfather now live - Paeroa - to get to Waihi.

It's understood Chance grew up in Whitianga and went to Mercury Bay Area School before moving to Hamilton.

Many of his close friends attended Fairfield College in Hamilton in the 1990s.

He flatted in the Waikato city and became close friends with Greg Flannagan and his wife Kelly-dee Flannagan.

It was the couple's home in Mairangi Bay that Chance left on Sunday.

Flannagan politely declined to speak to the Herald today but confirmed he was on the ground in Waihi searching for his mate.

Another friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, said everyone in the tight knit group was devastated and bewildered.

"He's a really nice guy and we want him back. Everyone is doing the best they can to try to find him."

The friend said he had known Chance for 10 years and he had paid money toward getting a private helicopter involved in the search.

"It's just really random that him and his car are missing. We've been everywhere. We just want to find his car because how can a car go missing?

"It's been a long time now so we're getting desperate. Everyone's hoping for the best."

Goldie said police held "grave concerns" for the safety of Chance, an animal lover whose phone and bank cards had not been used since he disappeared.

Police said they were now examining Chance's phone activity, including before the last detection near Karaka.

The Police Eagle helicopter has searched the Drury and wider South Auckland areas for the car, which police say is crucial to finding Chance.

Ground searches have also been carried out in Bombay and Karaka.

A drone owned by a friend of Chance's extended family had been used to scour the same area for the past three days to no avail.

On the Help Find Denver Chance Facebook page, one person said they had seen a man matching Chance's description at the Waihi New World supermarket on two consecutive Mondays.

Every possible sighting was being taken seriously but a recurring scenario was around the thought Chance had crashed his car near Waihi or on the Coromandel Peninsula.