Police have recovered the body of missing 71-year-old man Glenn David McLean who was last seen in Pauanui on Tuesday.

His body was found yesterday in his vehicle which had crashed down a steep 100m bank off State Highway 25A, the Kopu-Hikuai Rd.

Waikato Police have found the body of missing 71-year-old Pauanui man Glenn David McLean from the site of a vehicle crash on SH25A, The Kopu-Hikuai Rd. Photo: File

Waikato Police officers and salvage experts are currently working to recover his vehicle and are warning motorists to expect delays on the popular driving route.

Thames-Coromandel Area Response Manager senior sergeant Graham Shields says Glenn was reported missing by family on Tuesday and was believed to have been heading for Auckland.

'As part of our search of his likely route we utilised the Police Eagle helicopter and the crew spotted his car down the bank about 6.45 last night.

'The car could not be seen from the road and Mr McLean was found in the car, deceased.”

Graham say a specialist rope rescue team from the NZ Fire Service recovered Mr McLean's body and a post mortem examination will take place today to try and establish the cause of his death.

While this is going on members of the Serious Crash Unit are investigating the likely cause of the crash and have been conducting a scene examination from about 1pm today.

"To that end, and to allow salvage experts to access the scene and how the vehicle may be recovered, it is likely there will be a partial road closure of SH25 this afternoon.

'Disruption will be kept to a minimum however motorists are asked to factor this in to their travel plans.”

Graham believes the winding nature of not only SH25 and SH25A but all Coromandel roads meant drivers need to drive with caution.

This is particularly the case this weekend as the region hosts the K2 Road Cycle Classic which will see hundreds of cyclists converge on the road, he says.

'This will require patience from those on two, four and 18 wheels alike.

'Police will be doing everything possible to complete the recovery of the crashed vehicle today and if this is not possible we will review completing this on Sunday.”