Far North police looking for the killer of a Hokianga woman say someone has taken her clothing, a phone and a wallet from her flat in Rawene after her death.
The body of Barbara Moka, 32, was found on Wednesday in bush just a kilometre from the Omanaia marae where she was last seen at a tangi on 9 June.
Detective Senior Sergeant Rhys Johnston says one possibility is that someone wanted it to appear Ms Moka had left town, by getting rid of her personal belongings.
"This includes an older-style Nokia cellphone which is coloured grey and black; her wallet; and the majority of her clothing, which will be a very small size given that she was 150 centimetres tall and weighed 45 kilograms."
A 43-year-old man appeared in Kaikohe District Court on Wednesday charged with assaulting Ms Moka earlier in the year but all details were suppressed. He remains in custody.
Her whanau has travelled to Auckland, where a post-mortem was to be carried out on Thursday. They hope to bring her body back to her home marae, Omanaia, on Friday.
