KEY POINTS:
Police are combing through the records of 73 missing women in a bid to identify a woman whose body was found weighted down in a South Auckland river.
The body, which was wrapped in blankets and tied to a rock, was discovered trapped under a tree by two kayakers as they made their way down Clevedon's Wairoa River on Sunday afternoon.
An autopsy revealed that the woman died elsewhere before being dumped in the river.
She is believed to have been in the water for at least a week.
Detective Sergeant Mark Gutry said police were still not sure who the woman was.
She is believed to be between 30 and 50, of small build - about 45-50kg - and 155cm tall.
She was wearing adult incontinence pants and a dark T-shirt with stripes around the neck and sleeves.
Mr Gutry said the priority at this stage was identifying the woman and he urged anyone who is missing a person matching the woman's description to contact them.
As well as following up leads from the public Mr Gutry said police were working their way through a list of 73 women who have been reported missing.
Yesterday, 20 officers carried out inquiries on the case and police divers searched the river for clues.
Mr Gutry said another 20 staff would join the investigation today.
Police would also like to hear from anyone who had seen anything unusual near the river in recent weeks.
They are also seeking the owner of two distinctive blankets the body was wrapped in. One has a green and white pattern, and the second has large blue and white squares with the words "Pot Pourri" and pictures of three white lilies in the blue squares.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Operation River team on 0800 RIVER 1 or 0800 748-371.
