An elderly yachtie missing, presumed drowned, off the Far North coast did everything wrong and was an accident waiting to happen, say police.

A body found in a crashed car near Napier yesterday has been formally identified as missing motorist Alex Binns, police say.

One year on from his disappearance, police have renewed an appeal for information about a 19-year-old Nelson student.

A missing yachtie presumed drowned should not have sailed because his boat was probably unseaworthy, marine experts say.

A 90-year-old grandmother was happy and embarrassed that so many people had been looking for her.

The body found near Matarangi on the Coromandel Peninsula yesterday has been identified as that of missing teenager Cem Erbay. The death is being treated as suspicious.

Police believe they have found the body of missing Auckland man Cem Erbay, 19, in the Coromandel.

Police believe they have found the body of a man who has been missing since he leaped from a bridge in Hamilton last Thursday.