A Welcome Bay man has died in a quad bike accident on a semi-rural property in Tauranga...

The 66-year-old man was found with the bike about 5.45pm on Tuesday, but had been missing since the morning, says Tauranga Police Senior Sergeant Rob Glencross.

The quad bike was found on the rural property in Welcome Bay.

The accident happened on farmland on a rural property accessed from Waitaha Road South.

Police and St John Ambulance were called to the scene just before 6pm.

The owners of the farm went looking for the 66-year-old when they arrived home yesterday afternoon from a day out and noticed the stock had not been moved, says St John Ambulance district operations manager Jeremy Gooders.

'They went away for the day, and when they came back and I think the stock hadn't been moved, so they went to look for him,” says Jeremy.

'The owners of the farm found him under the quad bike.”

By the time St John ambulance officers arrived at the scene the man had been dead for several hours.

The quad bike was lying upside down half way down a slope, but it is unknown if the bike was travelling up or down the hill when it rolled.

His death is being referred to the Coroner and WorkSafe New Zealand, say police.