Missing family found safe after fishing trip in Kawakawa Bay

NZ Herald

13 Nov, 2021 05:28 PM3 mins to read

The boat is currently being escorted to Kawakawa Bay by Coast Guard. Photo / Alex Burton

A family of one adult and four young children spent have been found safe and well after being reported overdue from a fishing trip last night.

They had earlier been reported missing after failing to return from a fishing trip in Kawakawa Bay, east of Auckland, yesterday.

But Coastguard volunteers located the family of five, which included four young children aged 7 to 11, just before 10am today.

The Coastguard said sightings from the public helped narrow the search area, and the family was found at Waimango Point, five miles from where they launched at Kawakawa Bay.

The Coastguard said sightings from the public helped narrow the search area, and the family was found at Waimango Point. Photo / Alex Burton

Coastguard volunteers located the family of five, which included four young children aged 7 to 11. Photo / Alex Burton

"The vessel wasn't in any difficulty, they had fuelled up last night at Thames and camped overnight before heading out fishing again today. The vessel did not have a VHF Radio and the mobile on board had run out of battery. It's a welcome relief to worried family members at home and just a great outcome for all involved," Coastguard duty officer John Cowan said.

"Credit to the volunteers who jump out of bed last night to head out and search and again for the team effort out on the water this morning in tough visibility given the weather conditions," he said.

The family had been expected to head across the Firth of Thames to a Coromandel mussel farm, but did not arrive as planned to meet another group there.

Kawakawa Bay Boat Club. Photo / Alex Burton

Police were notified at 9.35pm yesterday the family had not returned home as expected from the day trip.

Police received reports just after 9am today that members of the public had sighted a boat matching the description of the missing boat, heading towards Matingarahi Point.

The boat is currently being escorted to Kawakawa Bay by Coast Guard.

Police would be undertaking further inquiries about the trip with the family today.

A police spokesman earlier provided details of the family's boat, saying it was a 14-foot fibreglass boat, with an orange hull and white topside, and a cuddy cabin with a red canopy.

The Coastguard was alerted by police about the overdue vessel at 9.56pm yesterday.

"The vessel had left Kawakawa Bay before sunrise that morning, along with another vessel for the Waikawau Mussel Farm, with one adult and three children onboard," a Coastguard spokesman said.

"The other vessel arrived at the mussel farm, however the vessel now reported missing failed to arrive."

The distance from Kawakawa Bay to Waikawau Mussel Farm is about 9nm, or 16.5km, according to Coastguard NZ.

This morning volunteers onboard Lion Foundation Rescue and Trillian Trust Rescue went to the Firth of Thames to search from the Waikawau Mussel Farm.

Coastguard volunteers from Howick Coastguard and Coastguard Maraetai helped police search throughout the night before returning to base shortly before 6am today.

It was wet and windy overnight, and those conditions remain today. Police said earlier the bad weather meant air searches couldn't happen.

Today, light rain showers are expected to continue over the bay with wind gusts of around 24km/h. The air temperature is expected to stay at about 19C with 15km visibility.

Low tide is at 9.54am, and high tide at 4.15pm today.