Missing Person Tauranga Harbour

A SAR operation continues in the Tauranga Harbour for missing 23 year old Tauranga man, Sean HOGARTH.

Sean has not been seen since Tuesday evening when he went fishing with 3 friends in the Tauranga Harbour where they got into difficulty and their boat was swamped by heavy seas.

Navy and Police Divers, using sonar equipment, have been called in to assist the search of the Tauranga inner harbour.

Inspector Karl WRIGHT-ST CLAIR said land searches and shoreline searches will continue this morning and Police are still hopeful that Sean has made landfall in the harbour.   The Navy and Police Divers are supporting the operation attempting to locate fishing gear and other items which may assist in identifying the exact location where the boat was swamped.

A further update will be issued this afternoon regarding the search progress.