The body of a missing British expat has been found in New Zealand.
We told how Stephanie Simpson disappeared while hiking in the South Island.
Th 32-year-old failed to turn up for her shift in the Wanaka area, where she worked as a gardener.
Police reportedly found Stephanie's body in Pyke Creek at around 1.40pm on Friday, the Mirror reports.
Sergeant Mark Kirkwood said: "The search was extremely challenging at times, especially in consideration of the terrain, and the work of all involved is to be commended.
"Police would also like to thank everyone involved in the search since it began on Monday for their considerable efforts to locate Stephanie."
He added that the Brit's family were 'understandably grieving' and had asked for privacy.
Ms Simpson reportedly told friends she had planned to go hiking in Mount Aspiring National Park at the weekend.
The park on New Zealand's South Island is described by the country's Department of Conservation as a "wonderful mixture of remote wilderness, high mountains and beautiful river valleys".
"It is a walker's paradise and a must for mountaineers," it added.
Police in New Zealand said Ms Simpson, from the Basildon area of Essex, was "reasonably experienced and very fit", the New Zealand Herald reported.
In recent days, relatives spoke of how the family were at their 'wits' end' and struggling to cope.
Her brother-in-law Sam Hazelton previously said: "You can’t imagine, it’s pretty awful. Everybody’s just hoping. You go to bed thinking: ‘What can we do?’
“And then you wake up, or keep checking your phone to get an update ... the hard thing is the delay and then nothing comes.
Mount Aspiring National Park, in New Zealand's Southern Alps region, is described as a "dreamland of mountains, glaciers, river valleys and alpine lakes".
The emergency services were scouring the area with dogs, helicopters and thermal imagingdrones.
