Police believe human remains found buried in the Central North Island are that of a Chinese man missing since 2017.

The buried remains were found last week following a search at Rangipo Intake Road, off Desert Road.

"As a result of enquiries to date, Police believe the deceased is a Chinese man, aged in his early 30's, whose whereabouts have been unaccounted for since 2017," police said today.

The deceased is yet to be formally identified, and due to the nature of the remains this could take some time to complete," police said

Police said their investigation is ongoing.