About five police officers were seen in the streets of Otautau on Saturday morning as part of the ongoing investigation.
Police were seeking any sightings of a young person who may have been walking along the Aparima River bank or the main road between Otautau and Fairfax, as well as in the general area of Eton St, Otautau, between 6pm and midnight last Wednesday.
A neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said police visited his property on Saturday to ask if he had seen anyone in the area on Wednesday evening.
However, he only arrived back at his Otautau home at 8.30pm and had not seen
anything, he said.
"I didn't realise something had happened till the next day.
"I looked down the street [on Thursday] and saw all the police and thought, `oh my God, something has gone down'."
While he was not there at the time of the incident, Otautau was a "small town where everybody knows everything", he said.
He said it had been "extremely traumatic" for the whole community.
A young person was arrested and charged with murder in relation to the death.
That person appeared in Invercargill Youth Court on Thursday and did not enter a plea.
They were remanded in custody until November 19, when they will appear in the High Court at Invercargill.
Details about their identity, including their age and sex, were suppressed.
