Police have confirmed that two bodies found in a car at Christchurch's Port Hills yesterday are those of a missing mother and daughter.
Marilyn Adele Zidich, 62, and her daughter Selina Adele Madden, 34, both of Belfast, were last seen alive on Thursday.
Their vehicle, a grey Fiat Tipo hatchback, was found during a search yesterday morning in dense scrub about 70m below Dyers Pass Road.
Formal identification was completed today and the deaths have been referred to the coroner.
The vehicle was being examined, police said.
The family of the two women thanked the police, searchers, the public and the media for their help in the hunt for the women.
