Source: Radio New Zealand
Te Anihana Pomana. Supplied / Police
A body has been found in the search for a missing woman in Auckland this weekend.
Te Anihana Pomana, also known as Ani Anderson, went missing on 21 August after leaving Sky City hotel in the early hours of the morning.
She left all her belongings in the hotel.
The 25-year-old was seen on CCTV heading towards Victoria Street West in the central city before she vanished.
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Police said a body had been found in dense bush in the Pukekohe area at 7.43pm on Saturday.
Formal identification was yet to take place, but they believed it to be the body of Te Anihana, they said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend said police were investigating the circumstances of the death and a post mortem was expected to be carried out in due course.
Earlier, police said they had no positive leads despite a number of people coming forward.
Pomana had withdrawn cash before her disappearance, and that her bank account had not been used since, they said.
Police said with such vast networks of CCTV in Auckland city, it was surprising Pomana had not been seen on CCTV after leaving Sky City hotel.
Friend said they had been looking at a bus trip Pomana took the day before she disappeared.
“On 20 August Te Anihana caught a bus, WX1, from Hobson Street to Lincoln Road, before boarding the same bus back into the city,” he said.
“Police have committed significant resources to this investigation, however have not been able to identify any positive lines of inquiry that have led to Te Anihana’s whereabouts.”
Timeline of Te Anihana Pomana’s disappearance
Early August: Pomana travelled from Dunedin to Christchurch with her father.
2 August: She arrived in Auckland and was treated at Middlemore Hospital for existing injuries. She was later discharged.
Early August: It’s believed she moved between multiple hostels, hotels, and bedsits in early August.
18 August: Pomana checked into SkyCity Hotel in Central Auckland, at 11.11pm.
20 August: She was seen on CCTV boarding WX1 bus from Hobson Street at 6.37pm. Police believed she travelled to Lincoln Road in Henderson then returned to city.
21 August: There was a confirmed sighting on CCTV of Pomana leaving Sky City at 5.06am, where she left all of her belongings behind. The last confirmed sighting was on Victoria Street West that day at 5.16am.
29 August: Police released CCTV of her last known movements.
5 September: Pomana’s mother and police issue an appeal for information about her location.
25 September: Police say despite many people coming forward with information, there had been no new sightings.
1 October: Pomana’s family issue an update on social media, saying there had been no sightings or bank movements since her disappearance.
24 November: Police find a body in Pukekohe, believed to be Te Anihana Pomana.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
