Body located in Arthur's Pass

Police searching for missing Greymouth man Peter Stephen BELL have located a body in Arthur's Pass National Park.

Mr Bell went missing from Greymouth on the 3rd of June and despite an extensive inquiry and searches by Police, he had not been located.

A member of the public found Mr Bell's vehicle near Klondyke Corner on Sunday 27 June.

As a result a search and rescue operation was launched. The operation involved approximately 30 LandSAR personnel and 10 Police. Two Police dog teams and two LandSAR dog teams were utilised in the operation.

This afternoon Police located a body in bush at Arthur's Pass. The body has yet to be formally identified. A scene examination has been completed and the body is being extracted. It will be brought to Christchurch for a post mortem examination.

The Coroner has been advised and next of kin in Australia are being notified through Interpol.

Police cannot confirm that the body is that of Mr Bell until a formal identification takes place. That may occur later this evening.

It's not known at this point how long the body had been there.