Body on Napier beach was missing French tourist Pierre Paludet

Tuesday, 23 January 2018

Police have confirmed the body found on Awatoto Beach in Napier on Friday was missing French tourist Pierre Paludet.

On Tuesday, police said they could confirm it was Paludet after they completed a formal identification process.

Paludet's family had been advised and arrangements would be made to return his body home to them, police said.

Police had referred Paludet's death to the coroner.

**READ MORE:

* Man's body washes up on Napier beach

* Family 'increasingly worried' as French tourist Pierre Paludet remains missing

* Police consider another aerial search for missing French tourist Pierre Paludet

*​ The mysterious vanishing of French tourist Pierre Paludet

* Missing French tourist Pierre Paludet's disappearance 'out of character'**

Paludet had been missing for 11 days. He was last seen by a member of the public about 6.30pm on January 12 at Haumoana, about 12km east of Hastings.

Local residents had noticed a build-up of rubbish and his car seemingly abandoned, leading them to call police on the afternoon of January 13.

Several searches of the area had failed to locate Paludet.

A former colleague of Paludet told Stuff he had been backpacking around the country on a working visa.

The woman said he spent about five weeks between March and April as a kiwifruit picker last year with Ōpōtiki Packing and Coolstorage in Te Kaha, in the eastern Bay of Plenty.

Paludet lived in Vallet, a town of about 7900 people in the Loire-Atlantique region of western France, where he worked as a composite materials engineer.

His family had become increasingly concerned with his disappearance, and described it as out of character.

Police wanted to thank the Haumoana community for the information and assistance provided during their investigation.