Police are appealing to the public to help solve the suspicious death of a homeless man whose body was pulled from water under an Auckland city wharf this morning.
Detective Senior Sergeant Gerry Whitley said the man's death was being treated as a homicide.
"It is highly unlikely the death of this man is accidental," he said.
The man, thought to be in his 50s and Caucasian, was found floating under Wynyard Wharf near Brigham St at the end of Auckland's "Tank Farm" about 9am by members of the public.
The man, who Mr Whitley described as a homeless transient, was known to police but they were waiting for results of a postmortem examination tomorrow before formally identifying him.
Police were struggling to contact next of kin, he said.
At a media briefing today Mr Whitley would not answer questions about the condition the body or whether it was clothed, saying they were waiting for forensic evidence.
It was too early to say how long the body had been in the water but it was thought it may have only been for the past 24 hours, he said.
"We do not know what happened or how this happened."
The police maritime support unit retrieved the body shortly after 10am.
A police specialist search team spent all day at the scene searching the area and a dive team was also called in.
Mr Whitley appealed to members of the public who may have seen a man in the area in the 24 hours before the body was discovered or had witnessed anyone going for a swim, or seen or heard a commotion in the area.
"We are keen to find out where the man entered the water," he said.
