A man has been charged with the murder of Northland woman Bridget Simmonds.
The 57-year-old is due to appear in the Whangārei District Court on Monday afternoon.
Det Snr Sgt John Clayton says the charge marks the end of a "lengthy investigation" and hopes it gives Simmond's family closure.
Simmonds, 43, went missing in February 2019, after she was dropped off by her mother at the Regent Countdown in Whangārei.
Her disappearance was reported on March 6 and investigators had made "extensive enquiries, spoken to her friends, family and associates, sifted through hours of CCTV footage and issued multiple appeals to the public for information in a bid to find her".
Police began treating the case as suspicious in June 2020 after new evidence from the public.
Clayton at the time said they had "grave concerns" something sinister had happened.
The week of June 10, police executed several search warrants and the dive squad was involved in the search.
On June 12th they began excavating a "site of interest" in Parakao and found a body, which was later confirmed as Simmonds.
Later that day a man was arrested in connection to the case. The man was taken into custody after being charged with assault on an unrelated matter and police said they wouldn't rule out further charges.
Police have not confirmed this is the man charged with Simmonds' murder.
