KEY POINTS:
Police are urging residents of Taupo's Acacia Bay to check their sections for any signs of a local man who has been missing since Monday.
Taupo police are desperate for any clues that will help them find Bob Leece after he failed to return from his afternoon walk.
Senior constable Barry Shepherd said they wanted all residents in the Acacia Bay area to check their yards for signs of the 69-year-old.
Mr Shepherd said even those who had checked their sections should look again - and look in places like behind sheds and under garden furniture in case he had taken shelter in the area.
Mr Shepherd said the most reliable sighting was one at the Acacia Bay South boat ramp about 1pm on the afternoon he went missing.
He said a police dive squad had been searching the lake edge yesterday while land search and rescue teams focused on bush and lakeside reserve areas.
Teams also went knocking on doors in the area looking for any further sightings.
Mr Shepherd said the teams hadn't found any clues to Mr Leece's whereabouts.
While he regularly went for afternoon walks he didn't have a set walking route.
The amount of time that had passed since Mr Leece went missing was a growing concern, Mr Shepherd said.
Weather over the past few days has been poor with the temperatures dropping to 6C overnight.
Mr Leece has Alzheimer's disease and is not in the best of health, Mr Shepherd said.
He was last seen wearing a navy blue sweatshirt, a white skivvy, dark green trousers and grey and white shoes. He's 1.7m tall and has grey hair and a beard, and walks with a limp.
The search has involved Taupo land search and rescue volunteers along with the Taupo Civil Defence Emergency Response Team and the Taupo and Turangi Volunteer Coastguards.
Rotorua search and rescue teams have also taken part in the search.
- NZH
