Remains found near Porirua walking track will take time to identify, police say

8:52 am on 2 February 2024

Remains found at walking track will take time to identify, police say

Police conducting a scene examination at Whitireia Park on 1 February 2024 following the discovery of human remains. Police do not believe it is connected to the recent fire that took place there a couple weeks ago.

Police at the scene on Thursday. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver

Human remains found near a Porirua walking track have been removed for a postmortem.

The remains were discovered near the Whitireia Park walkway in Tītahi Bay on Wednesday.

Detective Senior Sergeant Hamish Blackburn said police had not yet idenitifed the dead person, and it would take some time.

"Local iwi have been consulted and a blessing of the scene will take place in the coming days," he said.

Blackburn said the priority was to identify who the remains belong to and how they came to be where they were found.

A scene examination will continue in the Whitireia Park on Friday.

On Thursday, police told RNZ they did not believe the remains were connected to a recent fire.