Bodies found along Auckland's west coast beaches identified

Thursday, 5 September 2019

Two bodies that were found at beaches along Auckland's west coast within 24 hours of each other earlier this week have been identified.

On Monday afternoon, police found the body of 42-year-old Guobin Zhao at north Piha.

'The report was received at about 3.40pm and the man's body was later recovered,' a police spokeswoman said.

On Tuesday morning, another body was found at nearby Muriwai Beach.

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It was identified as that of 20-year-old Joseph Kenneth Fitchett.

Initially police had been notified of a body, later identified as Fitchett's, on Sunday in the water near the gannet colony known as the Temple, and had been searching for it since then.

'Police are working to support the family of the man through this tragic event', they said.

Both deaths would be referred to the coroner.