A Rotorua hunter who spent three days lost in the Mokaihaha Scenic Reserve would not have survived another night in the bush, police say.
Rotorua police were advised of a missing hunter in the reserve, on the Mamaku Plateau, at 11.30am yesterday.
The 29-year-old Rotorua man went missing late Friday afternoon while searching for a lost pig dog.
Search & Rescue co-ordinator Detective Sergeant John Wilson said weather in the area was "atrocious with low cloud and rain during the day which had started in the early hours of the morning".
A team of searchers began tracking the man from where he had gone into the bush to look for the dog, however their efforts were hampered by the weather conditions.