Police at the banks of the Tukituki River near Havelock North, near where a burned out car was found. Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
Police failed to realise a body was in a burned out car near Havelock North until two days after it was reported to them.
The car was sitting by a popular walking site and many people would have passed by without knowing a body was hiding inside.
People come by to cycle, walk or run along the River Rd and Hawke's Bay Trails between the vineyards and Tukituki River - in the shadow of Te Mata Peak.
But it is also a popular site to dump rubbish - and residents told RNZ burned out cars were a common occurrence.
However, the one parked here over the last few days had something hiding in it.
Linda Jacobson and daughter Melissa often walked their dogs in the area.
Melissa Jacobson was down there on Saturday and saw the car and took a glance from two metres away.
"It was just white, burned out, all the seals around the doors, and all the moulding and nothing left on the bumpers or anything like that, no glass, you could see right through.
"There was a sticker on the boot that said police had been down so don't report it again, they're aware of it."
The muddy site where a burned out car was found with a body inside near Havelock North. Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
Linda Jacobson said they thought about going right up to the car.
"We started to sort of go over closer and then I jokingly said to my daughter 'I don't think I want to look inside, just in case there's a body or something like that'."
On Sunday, the car had not moved. But Melissa said the next day was a different story.
"Came back yesterday, Monday, and then the cops were there and they finally told us after we were on our walk that we had to clear out of the carpark and it was now a crime scene."
In a statement, police said they were told about the vehicle around 10am on Saturday morning. But they did not see the body.
"Staff attended and due to the condition of the vehicle and debris from the fire, did not immediately identify that human remains were in the cabin of the car. A subsequent inspection of the vehicle revealed suspected human remains," the statement read.
They said an investigation into the incident was still in the "very early stages".
A post-mortem was expected to be carried out today, and police hoped this would help identify the person who died.
