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A body has been recovered from the Waioweka River in the search for a missing Bay of Plenty man.<\/p>\n
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David Roe, 52, had been missing since January 23 after falling from a boat while\u00a0crossing the river near the junction of Waiata Stream, near \u014cp\u014dtiki<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Eastern Bay of Plenty area commander Inspector Nicky Cooney said police recovered a body from the Waioweka River about 9am on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been a long slow search, hindered at times by the weather as well as impacted by the slips on SH2,\u201d Cooney said.<\/p>\n
The inspector thanked those who assisted in the search effort, in particular Land SAR volunteers, local jet boat and helicopter operators, and iwi.<\/p>\n
The formal identification process is underway and the death has been referred to the coroner.<\/p>\n
Police had been called to the scene in January after reports a man had fallen from a boat and been swept downstream.<\/p>\n
The vessel was found nearby while initial search efforts for Roe involved helicopters and jet boats.<\/p>\n
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