Police are hoping the results of a pathology examination to formally identify missing English tramper Dr Derek Hawkins will be available by the end of the week.
The mystery of Dr Hawkins' whereabouts had confounded police and Wanaka Search and Rescue team members for more than a year, until a tramping party discovered human remains in the south fork of the Siberia stream last week.
Acting Sergeant Emma Fleming, of Wanaka, said a SAR team recovered the human remains during a five-hour operation on Saturday.
The remains had since been sent to Dunedin to undergo forensic examination. Const Fleming said she was hoping results would be available by the end of the week.
She said she had spoken to Dr Hawkins' widow, Shirley, who is based in Sheffield, UK, after the remains were recovered.
"She appreciated the update, but didn't talk too much about it. I mainly informed her of the identification process which is taking place. "We are all still cautious about the eventual outcome until we have the tests confirmed by Dunedin,'' Const Fleming said.
While personal items were recovered from a backpack located downstream of the human remains, they had been exposed to the elements for the past 12 months and yielded no conclusive information towards positive identification, she said.
A camera, with deteriorated film in it, gave no clues, while a "smallish'' daypack contained items of clothing. Most of Dr Hawkins' gear had been left behind in Siberia Hut.
"Each item gives us circumstantial evidence and allows us to paint a picture,'' Const Fleming said, but were such items were inconclusive compared with an examination of dental records.
Dr Hawkins (72), a university metallurgy lecturer, of Sheffield, was last seen leaving on a four-hour return day tramp to Crucible Lake, from the Siberia Hut, on March 29, 2007.
An extensive search for Dr Hawkins involved up to 30 members and included specialist canyoning teams, sniffer dogs and their handlers, and several aerial searches by helicopters.
It failed to find any sign of the missing tramper.
Dr Hawkins was described as being in good health, although he was carrying medication for angina and high blood pressure.
The human remains were found in the south fork of the Siberia Valley, which is the next true right valley after the track to Crucible Lake, which Dr Hawkins indicated in the Siberia hut diary was his destination.
