Elderly woman found dead in bush
An elderly Wellington woman who has been missing since Friday was found dead.
Wellington police and Search and Rescue team members located a body in the bush area in the northern Wellington suburb of Woodridge about 7pm yesterday.
They later confirmed the body was that of 76-year-old Kebai Liu, who had been missing since Friday.
Liu's family had been anxious about the safety of the Chinese woman, who left her home early on the cold and wet Friday morning.
Police and volunteers from Liu’s neighbourhood had continued to search for her yesterday. Her body was discovered in local bush about 7pm.
Liu’s son, Xiang Li, said his mother's health had begun deteriorating rapidly in the past two to three weeks. She had appeared confused and paranoid.
‘‘No-one has seen her, that's my concern. I think she may be stuck somewhere around our property area,’’ Xiang said earlier in the search.
His mother first went missing on Thursday morning but was later found by a woman walking along Wellington’s Oriental Parade and returned to her family that night.
However, she went missing again around 2.30am the next day.
A potential sighting was reported at Wellington International Airport on Saturday morning, but there was no sign of Liu there.
She had been to a GP and was due for another doctor's visit today, Xiang said.
During the search, he told police that he believed his mother could not have strayed far from their house – as she left hours before the buses began running at dawn, and did not have any money with her for transport.
‘‘I truly believe she is probably still in the Woodridge, Newlands area. My feeling is that she is not far from the main road, [and maybe went to] a sheltered area or something. It was a very rainy day.’’
His mother was also having problems with her eyesight. She spoke limited English.
Earlier yesterday, police said they were sure Liu did not have money or ID with her when she went missing, so would not have been able to use public transport.
Her death has now been referred to the coroner.