The mother of a missing Christchurch man is hoping the discovery of a body is her son so she can get closure.

Police were called on Sunday afternoon by a member of the public after a body was found near the Waimakariri River in the vicinity of Pitt Road.

Joel Linwood disappeared after being involved in a crash on Old West Coast Road in July last year.

He was wanted by police at the time of the accident.

The truck he was in flipped on its roof, leaving one of the passengers with concussion and another with an injured back.

Linwood managed to get out and ran towards the Waimakariri River.

His mother Sheree Linwood told Chris Lynch she received a call from police last night saying they found a body, which was being guarded by police overnight.

The body was being tested today.

“I won’t point any fingers at all, because a body has been found before and we all thought it was Joel then, so I’ve been let down quite a bit”

“I’m just going through the paces with this.”

Linwood said she hopes the body is her son. “I know he’s passed, I know that. I don’t believe he’s hiding or anything like that.”

“I did think it was sinister has no body had turned up over summer.”