A goldminer who went missing near Kumara on the West Coast five years ago has now been officially declared dead by the coroner - although the cause of his death remains a mystery.
Seventy-year-old Hugh Charles McAllister was last seen near his Greenstone River gold claim in January 2010.
Days later, his ute was found nearby with thousands of dollars worth of gold nuggets inside.
In 2012, Mr McAllister's family offered a $25,000 reward for information.
The chief coroner has now said Mr McAllister is presumed dead unless further evidence is uncovered.
But police said the coroner's findings did not change anything.
They said the reward still stood and they had not given up hope of finding out what happened to him.
