Area investigations manager, Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Wilson, said it had been a long and extensive investigation.
“I want to acknowledge the whānau of Jason. This week is the four-year anniversary of his disappearance, and I know they are still feeling his loss deeply.
“While I know we haven’t been able to bring Jason home, I hope this gives them some kind of closure.”
Wilson acknowledged the hard work of all those involved in the investigation over the last four years.
“Including those involved in the initial Search and Rescue operations. Efforts have not gone unnoticed.”
It has previously been reported that Butler was born in Rotorua and raised in the area until his whānau moved to Australia when he was about 9.
At the age of 24, he was deported back to New Zealand after serving a prison sentence.
He made his way back to Rotorua, where he stayed for about 15 years. He drifted from place to place and at times slept rough. He fathered 10 children.
With help from whānau, he moved to Ōmāio, near Ōpōtiki, where he lived in a container home on whānau land until his disappearance.
On October 23, 2021, he was taken into the rugged Raukūmara ranges on an unapproved work experience by a Department of Conservation contractor.
The 50-year-old has not been seen since.
The contractor reported him missing four days later.
The search and rescue effort was suspended in December 2021.
The 57-year-old charged with manslaughter will appear in Whakatāne District Court today, police said.
The Crown would be opposing bail.