Photo: RNZ/Reece Baker
A jet skier who went missing in Cook Strait last month has now been named.
Andrew David Walker, 68, of Paraparaumu, did not arrive at Plimmerton, north of Wellington, on his jetski as expected on 3 February.
Walker was trying to cross the Cook Strait, a trip Kāpiti Boating Club said he had done many times.
Waves in the area at the time were between half a metre to one metre high, but there were strong rips and currents in the seas around Cook Rock and the nearby Brother Islands.
The police said hundreds of search hours were put into finding Walker including air, shoreline and water searches. Police, SAR teams, Coastguard and the Rescue Coordination Centre were involved in the searches.
A jet ski, believed to be Walker's, was found a day after he went missing.
Kāpiti Boating Club commodore John Smith said Andrew Walker was a core member.
"It's a very close community and Andrew figured highly in there. He was an energetic person who did a lot of things for a lot of people, and he had a lot of great friends around here."
Local residents, including the local aero club, had rallied behind the search, he said.
"We're just sad, it's quite a traumatic time for Andrew's family, and we are just sad it ended the way it did."
Police said they are continuing to offer support to his family during this extremely difficult time.
