The identity of a motorcyclist found dead on a beach this morning is as yet unknown.
The body – believed to be that of a young father – was found with a motorbike at the water’s edge on a Kāpiti Coast beach early this morning, police said.
Shortly after 7am, a walker came across the body which was beside the motorbike on the beach between Paekākāariki and Raumati.
The motorcyclist was still wearing a helmet.
Senior Sergeant Anita Dixon said a post mortem would confirm how the man died, but it appeared to be as a result of falling off his motorbike.
Police said a Paekākāariki woman called them this morning to say her partner, a 26-year-old man, had gone out on his motorbike last night and had not returned.
While the body still needed to be formally identified, police believed it was the missing man.
They told the woman of the find this morning.
Paekākāariki community board chairman Jack McDonald said it was, “very saddening” to hear of the fatal motorcycle crash that occurred on Paekākāariki beach overnight.
“The 26 year old man who died is believed to be a resident of Paekākāariki. My thoughts and love go out to the family and friends who are affected by this tragedy.
“It is tragic and unfair when anyone who is so young is taken from their loved ones. Paekākāariki is a small, close-knit town and so this will likely have a significant and long-lasting impact on the community.
“I and others in the community are nervously waiting for the identity of the deceased to be released by the police,” McDonald said.
