A body has been found in the water near New Plymouth's Paritutu Rock where two students and a climbing instructor went missing earlier this month.
A worker from the local power station found a body in the water about 7am on Sunday, Sergeant Andrew Ross told NZ Newswire.
The body had been recovered and an identification process was under way.
"From what we can gather it is one of the three missing people but we don't know which one," he said.
The police dive team had returned to Wellington and weather in the area was poor on Sunday, he said.
Spotswood College students Stephen Kahukaka-Gedye and Joao Felipe Martins De Melo, both aged 17, were swept off rocks by huge waves while climbing with a school group on August 8.
Taranaki Outdoor Pursuits and Education Centre instructor Bryce Jourdain, 42, dived into the sea to try to rescue them but also disappeared.
Police divers were able to join the search for the first time on Saturday.
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