Police are treating the disappearance of a 50-year-old Hastings man as a homicide.
John Charles Wright has not been seen since early June and police say the lack of contact with family and friends is out of character.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dave de Lange says Mr Wright lived at two different addresses in the suburb of Mayfair and an examination of two houses indicated some sort of violence may have occurred.
He says police have launched a homicide investigation because there is no other explanation for Mr Wright's disappearance.
Fifteen staff are working on the case.
