UPDATE 1.00PM: Police have comfirmed that the track around the base of Mount Maunganui has now reopened, following an unsuccessful search of the area this morning.

A Police dog team spent about four-and-a-half hours carrying out a search of the area from first light, but without success, finishing at around 11.30am.

Police dogs return from their search this morning. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Inspector Karl Wright-St Clair, of Bay of Plenty Police, says the search had been carried out in response to recent reports of an unusual odour in the area.

'We are satisfied we have now completed a very thorough search of the area and there is nothing untoward,” says Karl.

This included a search of the shoreline from the Mount Maunganui SurfLifesaving Club around to the beach area, where local boy Jack Dixon was reported missing from on October 1. It also included thorough searches of the base track, hill and bush area.

Police are also still looking for local man Stephen Tracey, who went missing from Mount Maunganui on September 27 after telling family he was going for a walk but did not return.

Karl says while the search for both Stephen and Jack was suspended, Police would actively work on any new information that came to light.

'We thank everyone for their patience while the search was undertaken and apologise for any inconvenience this caused.”

UPDATE 11:45am: Reports are coming in that the Mount base track has been re-opened following a Police search operation around the area.

Police closed the track early this morning as part ongoing efforts to locate two missing people in the area - five-year-old Jack Dixon and Stephen Michael Tracey, 37.

The operation involved Police teams searching with a dog trained in finding human remains.

Today's closure of the Mount base track is the result of a report from the public of a ‘strange smell' in the area, says inspector Karl Wright-St Clair of the Tauranga police.

'It's in relation to the two missing people," he says. 'We are just covering off some information from the public around a strange smell in that area.

'We've got a dog that specialises in finding human remains. We are just covering off that aspect.”

The closure was enforced at 4:30am this morning, and members of the public are asked to keep clear of the track while the search is underway.

There are currently two Police cars parked at the Mount Surf Club and a security guard on site.

The Mount has been closed since before dawn.

Jack was playing at the water's edge in a spot known as Shelly Beach when a large wave swept him and two girls out to sea on Wednesday, October 1.

The girls managed to clamber to a nearby rock and were brought to shore by two adults, but Jack was not seen, and hasn't been found in spite of extensive searches over recent weeks.

Stephen Michael Tracey, 37, failed to return home after telling his family he was going for a walk on Saturday September 27.

He was last seen by someone who knows him on the beach, by Leisure Island, at 6pm on the 27th.

At the time of his disappearance police carried out a number of searches and enquiries with the assistance the Mount Maunganui Surf Lifesaving Club and local search and rescue volunteers, but there have been no sightings.