Police are urging runners to take cellphones with them after an experienced multisport athlete became lost in bush and was forced to hunker down overnight with no way of making contact with family or rescuers searching for him.
The 40-year-old Whangarei man managed to walk out of the bush with a few scratches and wasp stings just as rescuers were about to resume their search about 8am on Friday.
Head of the Northland Police Search and Rescue Squad, Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe, said the incident highlighted the need for runners or anyone heading into the bush to be better prepared and have some form of communication, like a mobile phone.
The alarm was raised by the man's wife about 9pm on Thursday when he failed to return home after a run he had estimated would take him three hours in the Pukenui Forest on Western Hills Drive.
Police were told the man was wearing only running clothes, had no water, lights or form of communication with him.