Police using DNA to identify human remains found near Tokoroa

Human remains found on the outskirts of Tokoroa this week will be identified using DNA, say police.

The remains were discovered in a rural area of Waikato, near Tokoroa.

A member of the public reported the find to police, who secured the area on Wednesday.

A police spokesperson said when human remains were found they are removed from the scene with the assistance of ESR investigators.

"A post mortem examination takes place, and then we work through a process to identify the person," she said.

"In relation to the Tokoroa case, we are advancing identification through DNA, which is a process ESR completes, and this takes some time."

Next, a post mortem would take place, before police could work through a process to identify the person.

The identification of the remains found near Tokoroa was expected to take some time, the spokesperson said.

The mother of a little boy who disappeared in Tokoroa in 1968 told RNZ she did not know if she wanted human remains discovered this week to be him.

Jefferie Hill was almost three when he went missing from the back of his parents' home in Ferguson Street, where the Matarawa Creek wound past.

His body was never found and in 1969 a coroner ruled he had drowned.

However, without his body, mum Jo Reynolds was never able to rule out foul play.

The 81-year-old said she had not been contacted by police but she expected it to take time to identify the remains.

"I heard it on the news and my heart just more or less stopped. I thought 'Oh my God'. Could be Jefferie.

"And then I thought, 'I hope it is' and then I thought, 'I hope it isn't'."

She understood the remains were found at Mossop Road, on the other side of town from Ferguson Street, which was not connected to the creek.

The other missing person's case in Tokoroa was that of Shane Edwards, the 42-year-old father who left his home in Hawick Street in May 2022 and vanished.

It was also possible the remains belonged to someone missing from outside the area.

Human remains were dug up in Hamilton in June when the owners of a Hillcrest property had their back yard excavated for a pool.

The remains were identified as pre-European and identification was handed over to local iwi.

Taupō area investigations manager Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Yardley said specialist resources, including search teams, were assisting to ensure a thorough examination of the Tokoroa remains.

"Formal identification will take some time and until this process has been completed police will be unable to provide further comment or information on the possible identity of the remains."

Anyone with information that may assist was encouraged to contact police online, or by calling 105 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.