KEY POINTS:
Searchers today found a husband and wife who had not returned from a rafting trip.
The rescue teams set off in kayaks and a helicopter set at dawn today to look for the couple.
They were found safe and well.
Sergeant Shane McNally said relatives raised the alarm yesterday when the 55-year-old man and 47-year-old woman failed to show up at a meeting point on the Mangakino Stream, northwest of Taupo.
"It was a pre-arranged trip -- they planned to enter a location on the river and hop out a few kilometres downstream, but they haven't turned up at that location," he said.
A Lion Rescue helicopter search last night with night vision goggles failed to locate the missing rafters.
Mr McNally earlier said the helicopter would fly over the area again in daylight, and two more searchers would kayak down the river in an attempt to spot the couple.
Depending on the result of those searches, police might also conduct a ground search, although the steep terrain around the river could make it difficult, he said.
- NZPA
