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Emergency services have found the body of a man believed to have been stinging in Southland.
Police have named the man found dead in a river in southeastern Southland on Saturday.
John Toogood, 71, of Gore, was found in the Waikawa River in Progress Valley, 80 kilometers southeast of Invercargill.
George Toogood said that his cousin, John, was a quiet man who lived alone.
He was a regular at the Gore Town and Country Club and usually went there every Friday night, where he enjoyed playing pool, George said.
When John wasn’t there, George thought he had missed it.
It wasn’t until the next morning that George got a call saying that John was away.
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John loved whitebait, which he had been making for years and used to make regular trips to Taupo to fish, George said.
Before retiring, John was a farmer, he said.
Tokonui resident Michael Bashford said he knew Toogood personally, who had owned a trash stand in the area for many years.
John Toogood was found in the river by the Tokonui-based land search and rescue team on Saturday morning.
A police spokesman said it was believed to have been biting in the area. He had been reported missing on Friday.
Police could not confirm the circumstances of the death as it was still under investigation.
Death has been referred to the coroner.
