[downunder]

On my local walk, details and outlay of events are weird, still not officially confirmed but to me it sounds like a suicide.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=11171244

A body recovered from the Waikato River today was found by a group of teenage rowers from Hamilton Girls High School, police say.

The discovery came after searchers yesterday scoured the river in the search for missing Australian tennis coach Paul Arber.

Detective Inspector Karl Thornton said police were working to formally identify the man's body and were offering support to the group of rowers.

Police received two calls from members of the public shortly before 7am in relation to sightings of the body in north Hamilton.

Mr Thornton said one of those calls was from a person involved in a Hamilton Girls High School rowing team, which encountered the body in the river while they were training.

"This person assisted in not only ensuring police were aware of the situation but also worked to ensure the girls on board the rowing boat were managed as well as possible, given the nature of what had occurred..."


Police were working with the team to ensure they received victim support services. They were also working closely with school management to ensure the necessary steps to support the girls was taken.

Mr Thornton said the body was recovered from the river in suburban Queenwood by 7.40am with help from the Hamilton police rescue launch and members of the Waikato search and rescue squad.

"The person was brought back to Waikato Hospital where investigators have been able to establish the person was male. It will, however, be some time before the formal identification process will be completed that will confirm for us the person's identity."

While it was natural to speculate that it could be Mr Arber's body, it was expected to be some time before a formal identification was completed.

"We have, however, not received any other reports of missing persons we believe could be linked to this morning's recovery."

Mr Arber's family hade been informed of today's development.

Mr Thornton said they were understandably very upset, but they acknowledged the help and support of the people of Hamilton. They also thanked media for publicising the case and police for their support.

"They have asked that their privacy at this time be respected."

Mr Thornton said other aspects of the inquiry into Mr Arber's disappearance were continuing, including the processing of sighting reports from the public.

[Pigeon]

Wow, those girls who found him must be pretty shaken up

[Photoplay]

This is very weird. Sad though.

[Sharon]

Very sad when people resort to suicide

[Faline]

Shocking for those teens too.

[downunder]

Around two weeks before his death the man displayed odd behaviour his parents said, he became a vegan and said he wanted to be closer to nature.
He was enticed out of the river around 4am last sunday by a couple but turned around and headed back in where he was last seen.

[Kelseecat65]

[Pigeon]

Confirmed it was him

http://www.smh.com.au/national/frien...212-2z7x8.html
Body found in New Zealand river is missing Melbourne tennis coach Paul Arber, says friend

The Australian tennis tour team, including Mr Arber's parents Richelle and Sam Arber, held a ceremony on the banks of the river this morning near where the body was found.

A schoolgirl rowing crew discovered a body in the Waikato River earlier on Thursday, near to where New Zealand police have been searching for Mr Arber, from Melbourne.

Mr Sheppard said he wanted to make it clear that Mr Arber was in a "tranquil and happy" state when he went into the river..

"Paul was getting in touch with nature, it was 4am, he's actually gone into that river to have a swim," he said.

"He hasn't been in the mental frame of mind to ascertain the dangers of the river or the treachery of the river, but what actually happened to Paul was an accident. It was 100 per cent an accident.

"He was in a happy state of mind and in a tranquil state of mind."
Friends and family gather on the banks of the Waikato River to remember Paul Arber.

Friends and family gather on the banks of the Waikato River to remember Paul Arber. Photo: Bruce Mercer/Waikato Times

Mr Arber was in Hamilton coaching eight young tennis players who competed in the Waikato Christmas Junior Tournament.

He was part of a wider group of about 50 Australian coaches and players and was last seen early on Sunday, walking in and out of the river near Hamilton East, about 120 kilometres south of Auckland.

He is a former Kooyong Tennis Club captain and the 2012 Victorian Jewish Tennis Champion.

The children on the tennis tour were upset but had decided to keep playing in the tournament, Mr Sheppard said.

"Because of Paul every single one of them wants to partake in the tour. They still want to keep going because they've said that Paul has taught them you've got to be a fighter, you've got to be tough, you've got to have determination and in respect for Paul they want to go ahead with the tour."

Mr Arber's parents were finding the situation hard but were grateful to the people of New Zealand and police for their help, Mr Sheppard said.

"Obviously they're terribly upset about it," he said.

"Mr Arber and Mrs Arber thought the location where everything was found, as morbid as it might sound, they just thought he couldn't have wished for anywhere more beautiful.

"In the worst possible outcome, they felt as happy as they could possibly be."

Earlier, Hamilton woman Beth Lynch was walking her dog down the west side of the river when she heard the girls in the boat screaming.

"I thought one of them had fallen out of the boat, but then I heard one of them yell out 'Oh my god, I've hit him, I've hit him,' " she said.

Mrs Lynch said she then saw a body floating swiftly down the river.

"I just feel so sorry for the girls in that boat, it's just horrible."