Top engineer and father-of-two Greg Saenger who worked on major government building projects in NSW found dead at South Ballina beach

The body of a respected engineer and father of two young children has been found dead on a popular beach after he was reported missing several days earlier.

Greg Saenger, 45, from Byron Bay was last seen on River Street in Ballina, in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, at around 7.30pm on Monday.

Four days later, police were called to South Ballina Beach after a body was found in the water at about 6.30pm on Friday.

Although the body has not yet been formally identified, it is believed to be that of Mr. Saenger, the Daily Telegraph defeated.

The father of two is regarded as one of the top geotechnical engineers in NSW and is a director and chief engineer at his company Civil Construct.

Civil Construct was awarded a contract by Lismore City Council to deliver seven civil engineering projects following the devastating floods in 2017.

Mr Saenger, who has worked in the industry for more than 20 years, was a senior representative for the Pacific Highway upgrade from Tintenbar to Ewingsdale in northern New South Wales.

His company was contracted to build a new bridge over the Clarence River at Harwood as part of the major Woolgoolga to Ballina (W2B) project.

In his profile on Civil Construct’s website, Mr. Saenger says he prefers to work on large infrastructure projects.

“He has a passion for the temporary workspace, where design can happen on site. Above all, he gets great satisfaction from helping his clients with innovative technical solutions,” his profile reads.

“When Greg isn’t working, you’ll find him in the surf, swimming in the ocean or teaching his kids to surf and skate.”

Mr Saenger’s death comes just years after his father Peter Saenger, a coastal management professor at Lismore, died unexpectedly in 2021.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

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