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Police have been searching for missing 72-year-old Brian Bench and asked anyone in the Whangārei area who had CCTV or dash-cams in their vehicles to review footage from 8pm Wednesday night to 8am Thursday morning.

Brian was reported as missing since Wednesday night. He was last known to be located at an address on Memorial Drive near Riverside Drive on the same night since going missing.

It was later announced he was found dead in a bush area of Parahaki in the afternoon, Sunday. Despite attempts from emergency service staff, he’d passed away at the scene.

Source: CC/ Google Maps

Reports indicated he had possibly been seen in the Whangārei CBD area at around 7am on Thursday.

Police continued to show concerns for Brian’s welfare while search efforts were ongoing at the time.

“We’d like to thank all the members of the public for their overwhelming support, those who assisted with the search on Saturday and those who provided information to Police,” a statement said.

“We’d also like to thank the Land Search and Rescue staff for their tireless work over the past few days while searching for Brian.”

The next of kin was advised and the death will be reported to the Coroner.

Image: SUPPLIED/New Zealand Police [Missing 72-year-old Brian Bench]

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