Police say a body has been found in the search for Te Anihana Pomana, who has been missing since August.
Te Anihana Pomana, also known as Ani Anderson, went missing on August 21 after leaving Sky City hotel in the early hours.
The 25-year-old is originally from Dunedin but had been residing in Wellington before travelling to Auckland in the months before her disappearance.
She was seen on CCTV heading towards Victoria Street West in the central city before she vanished.
Police today said a body was found in dense bush in the Pukekohe area at 7.43pm on Saturday.
Formal identification was yet to take place, but they believed it to be the body of Te Anihana, they said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend said police were investigating, and a post mortem was expected to be carried out in due course.
Earlier, police said they had no positive leads despite a number of people coming forward.
Pomana had withdrawn cash before her disappearance, and that her bank account had not been used since, they said.
Police said with such vast networks of CCTV in Auckland city, it was surprising Pomana had not been seen on CCTV after leaving Sky City hotel.
Friend said they had been looking at a bus trip Pomana took the day before she disappeared.
"On 20 August Te Anihana caught a bus, WX1, from Hobson Street to Lincoln Road, before boarding the same bus back into the city," he said.
"Police have committed significant resources to this investigation, however have not been able to identify any positive lines of inquiry that have led to Te Anihana's whereabouts."
Timeline of Te Anihana Pomana's disappearance
- Early August: Pomana travelled from Dunedin to Christchurch with her father.
- August 2: She arrived in Auckland and was treated at Middlemore Hospital for existing injuries. She was later discharged.
- Early August: It's believed she moved between multiple hostels, hotels, and bedsits in early August.
- August 18: Pomana checked into SkyCity Hotel in Central Auckland, at 11.11pm.
- August 20: She was seen on CCTV boarding WX1 bus from Hobson Street at 6.37pm. Police believed she travelled to Lincoln Road in Henderson then returned to city.
- August 21: There was a confirmed sighting on CCTV of Pomana leaving Sky City at 5.06am, where she left all of her belongings behind. The last confirmed sighting was on Victoria Street West that day at 5.16am.
- August 29: Police released CCTV of her last known movements.
- September 5: Pomana's mother and police issue an appeal for information about her location.
- September 25: Police say despite many people coming forward with information, there had been no new sightings.
- October 1: Pomana's family issue an update on social media, saying there had been no sightings or bank movements since her disappearance.
- November 22: Police find a body in Pukekohe, believed to be Te Anihana Pomana.
