Man found alive after 48 hours lost in Hokitika bush with no locator beacon

Police are calling a man’s accidental 48-hour stint in the bush a “textbook example of what not to do”.

The man is lucky to be alive after getting lost in the West Coast bush for 48 hours during an orange rain warning, with no Personal Locator Beacon (PLB).

He departed from the Hokitika Gorge area for an ‘overnight tramp’ on Saturday.

Relatively new to the West Coast, the man headed straight into an area prone to flash flooding. Many of the rivers are known for becoming uncrossable in heavy rain.

The man was reported missing when he didn’t return the next day, prompting a 48-hour search and rescue effort.

A Land Search and Rescue member in one of the many Westland canyons in the area where a man went missing for 48 hours.

Senior Constable Sarah Cook said, “this is a textbook example of what not to do”.

With limited tramping experience, the man had left no details about where he was headed.

“He’s underestimated the terrain, had left no clear intention on where he was going, was poorly clothed and equipped - including carrying no PLB. He was very lucky to be found alive,” Cook said.

After a briefing at Hokitika Police Station, two Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR) teams and a helicopter were deployed Monday morning. That evening he still was not found.

“The team became increasingly worried about his ability to survive his second unplanned night out in the conditions. A fourth team was deployed to bolster the search,” Cook said.

Searchers had to transport themselves and their equipment across swollen rivers after a man went missing near Westland's Hokitika Gorge for 48 hours.

By Tuesday, they began considering what resources would be needed if the search turned to a body recovery operation. Fortunately, the man was found alive around midday.

He was located “cold, wet, battered and bruised.

“He was alive but on the opposite riverbank to the track. With the search team unable to cross the river to get to him, he was extracted via helicopter,” Cook said.

The man explained he’d spent the first night in Frew Hut, but the following day lost his track after crossing a bridge.

He said he crossed the Hokitika River, navigating through the Frisco Canyon, before spending a wet night beneath some rocks.

The man reported a substantial swim in the Hokitika river at one stage after slipping while traversing the base of a bluff.

Search and Rescue teams scoured the Hokitika river to find the missing man in Westland. Photo / Supplied

“It wouldn’t be the only time he ended up in the water,” Cook said.

While the rain had stopped when the team found him, the temperature was forecast to drop overnight.

He was “in no way prepared to weather another night out in the elements... he was also well off track and a far cry from his starting point at the Hokitika Gorge car park,” Cook said.

LandSAR teams from Hokitika, Westport and Reefton along with Precision Helicopters all worked together to locate the man.

Searchers set up aerials for communications back to the Incident Management Team after a man went missing for 48 hours in Westland.

“Without the local knowledge and expertise of the LandSAR teams we would never have gone where we needed to, and without the helis we could have never got there in time. These two factors were instrumental in finding and rescuing the man.”

Members of the public also got in behind the search, preparing hot food and transport for searchers returning from the field.

“A hot pie delivery to the searchers in the field from Matt Newton from Precision Helicopters was also gratefully received,” Cook said.

She wants to remind people that a small fall in the bush can have catastrophic consequences.

“Every tramper, no matter how experienced, needs to carry a PLB to ensure they’re found as quickly as possible.”