A kayaker found the woman’s body about 11.30am.

An autopsy will be conducted this ­morning. 

Police spent much of yesterday canvassing nearby residents with a photograph of a woman who has been missing since Thursday.

Detectives also spent yesterday canvassing the area for information.

Central Hunter crime manager Detective Inspector John Zdrilic would not comment on the identity of the missing woman out of respect for the family, but said the investigation was continuing.

“We hope to have a positive identification by early afternoon,” he said.

“Detectives have made numerous inquiries and we had a team out conducting a canvass up and down the area.

“As long as we don’t know who it is and what has happened, then we will continue to investigate 100 per cent.

“There is nothing to tell me that there is anything suspicious but, at the moment, it is too early to say for sure.”

Inspector Zdrilic said detectives continued their search of the river and the surrounding areas for items that may have belonged to the woman.

The find shocked a number of residents, including Chris Dunn, who has lived in Sempill Street for more than 15 years.

Mr Dunn said he was saddened by the news.

“I’ve not seen anything like this before, not a body in the river anyway,” he said. “It was a bit shocking, you just hope it’s nothing sinister.”

A resident said she saw a number of police searching the area on Sunday.

“They were all down in the paddock behind us,” she said. “I walked down the back and there were three or four police cars and detective cars as well.

“Police came back today, they just said they’d found a woman and were trying to find out who she was. 

“They showed a photo of a lady and asked if we’d seen her or heard anything suspicious.”

A report will be prepared for the Coroner outlining the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death.