Teen's death leaves many unanswered questions

Cem Erbay's stepfather Simon Mercep (R) and others keep vigil at the site where the teen was found. Photo / Getty Images

Police hope a post mortem examination today of the body of teenager Cem Erbay will help to answer some questions about how he died as they try to piece together the mystery of his final hours.

A search and rescue team found the 19-year-old's body in a pine plantation on Monday afternoon - just 70m from a residential area where hundreds of holidaymakers are enjoying the summer at Matarangi.

Police say they are mystified how the Auckland University student, who disappeared two days earlier, came to be at the plantation.

They are also uncertain how he died and are treating his death as suspicious.

Mr Erbay's body was taken to Auckland by launch yesterday afternoon and the autopsy will be performed today.

His friend Will Killip said friends and family were still trying to accept what had happened.

"We were all pretty shocked at first when we heard about it," he said.

"But we have settled down and are coming to terms with what's happened the best we can."

Yesterday, a 20-strong search and rescue team from Auckland scoured an area of bush about 100m from where Mr Erbay's body was found as police detectives and an ESR forensics team worked at the site.

Mr Erbay's family and friends kept an overnight vigil, sleeping on mattresses outside the police cordon, about 40m from where his body lay.

The family asked for privacy but his stepfather, Radio New Zealand journalist Simon Mercep, said they wanted to be close to him.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Greene of the Waikato CIB would not say what the search and rescue team were looking for.

He would not say if any of Mr Erbay's personal belongings were missing when he was found.

"They're looking for any items of interest from the young man's travels through Matarangi so they're examining all the pieces of the surrounding bush."

Mr Greene would also not comment on how Mr Erbay appeared when searchers found him or whether there were any signs of a struggle.

It remains unclear if he had suffered any injuries but police still consider his death as suspicious.

Mr Greene said it was unlikely that Mr Erbay walked the more than 20km from Wharekaho to Matarangi on January 1 through hilly and rugged terrain.

The teenager was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, jeans and had no shoes on at the time of his disappearance.

Mr Greene is appealing to anyone who might have given him a lift to Matarangi.

He said the first likely sighting of Mr Erbay at Matarangi was about 7am on January 1.

The last sighting was at the Matarangi store between 9 and 10am where the Herald understands he bought a Powerade and some Mallowpuffs, and a short time after at an area known to locals as the Duck Pond.

"How he got here is a mystery," said Mr Greene.

"We are hoping someone who might have seen him either walking or hitch-hiking will contact us or a friend who might have given him a ride in the car, those are the sorts of things we are looking for."

Mr Erbay was reported missing late on Saturday afternoon near Whitianga and was last seen by Mr Killip about 4am on January 1 after crossing the one-lane bridge at the south end of Wharekaho Beach.

The pair had "sobered up" and left a New Year's Eve party to walk home.

Mr Killip called out to his friend as he walked towards Wharekaho Beach but he did not respond.

He went to bed thinking his friend had made it home safely.

The alarm was raised later that day at 5pm when it was clear Mr Erbay had not come home.

On his Facebook page his friends sent condolences after earlier posting messages hoping for his safe return.