Police believe human remains found in central North Island last week are that of a Chinese man

Police believe the human remains located in the central North Island last week are that of a Chinese man in his early 30s whose whereabouts have been unaccounted for since 2017.

The buried remains were found by police following a search at Rangipo Intake Road, off Desert Road, on Tuesday, March 24, police said in a statement.

A post-mortem has been completed and the death is being treated as suspicious, they said.

Police believe the remains are that of a Chinese man, aged in his early 30s, whose whereabouts have been unaccounted for since 2017.

The deceased has yet to be formally identified, and could take some time to complete due to the nature of the remains.