Hope photo will jog memories

Police are calling for sightings of killed man Donald Stewart and his car last weekend to help clarify his movements.

Hamilton Police have released a photo of Donald Stewart taken days before his death as they try to jog the memories of people who may have seen him the night before his body was found on a Hamilton street.

Mr Stewart was found dead at about 6am on Sunday in the service lane behind the Bayley's building on the corner of London and Victoria Sts.

Detective Inspector Russell Le Prou said police wanted sightings of Mr Stewart and his 1989 Peugeot 405 car late Saturday or early Sunday.

"Don was fastidious about maintaining his vehicle and it was in pristine condition, as can be seen by the photograph."

He said any sightings would help to clarify Mr Stewart's movements during the night of the All Blacks-Wales rugby test.

Police believe the car was parked on London St before it was stolen and dumped in a Collins Rd ditch. It was then towed by someone to a scrap yard in Te Rapa.

According to Collins Rd and Tuhikaramea Rd residents, the area was a popular boy-racer hang-out where they often found vehicles burnt-out or crashed.

Detective Inspector Lance Burdett said police were also looking for two vehicles in relation to getting Mr Stewart's Peugeot out of the the ditch.

A manager of Sims Pacific Metals scrap yard declined to comment when asked if the vehicle was dropped at his business. A manager at another Te Rapa scrap yard, Metal Man, said he knew nothing about the car and had not been visited by police.

Tuhikaramea Rd resident Bernard Cloke said he drove past the car on Sunday evening. His wife was so concerned she called it in to police.

"We were (driving along) and commenting about how they'd built the road up and that we wouldn't want to go down there and come round the corner and there it is down the bank. We stopped and made sure there was nobody in it."

No-one was inside and nothing significant stood out, so they continued their drive home.

Deanwell resident Tracey Cooper saw the vehicle twice on Sunday; first between 10am and 11am and again about 5pm.

Collins Rd resident Paul Reymer, who lives about 200 metres from where the car was dumped, saw it on Sunday afternoon. He saw it again Monday and thought it strange somebody would just leave a car in the 2m-deep ditch.

Another resident saw the car about 11am.

Tamahere resident Arnold Koppens operates Wood Works Ltd about 200m further down the road and also spied the dumped Peugeot on Sunday. He didn't think much of it as he'd noticed numerous cars in the ditch in recent weeks which had fallen victim to road works.

Anyone with information can call Hamilton police on 078586200 or the Crimestoppers confidential line on 0800555111.

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