James had not realised Simone was to join them and left without her.
That was at 4.30pm and Simone, clutching the jacket, went to find her dad.
It was not until 5.30pm, after James returned with Gemma and was in his office using the computer, that the couple realised neither of them had Simone.
"It was still daylight and she is such a sensible little girl that at first I thought she would just be in the yard, perhaps playing on the swing, but she wasn't," Sophie said.
The couple got into a vehicle and drove to the woolshed to check that out, along with the fertiliser bin and the cattle yards. There was no sign of Simone.
"We called and called but there was not a peep. Then we went back to the house to check again, as she never normally leaves the yard, but now we realised she was on a mission ... she had to take a jacket to her sister."
By 6pm the couple were really worried and telephoned neighbour Simon Buckley, who manages Wairere Station and who could rally a team of searchers.
By that time, Sophie said, "I had started to panic."
"It had got really black, really quickly and I rang the police."
The couple knew Simone was careful around water, even though the farm has dams and troughs, but their greatest concerns were over the electric fences and animals, which include bulls.
As police responded and mounted a search, which was to include a helicopter, the team of neighbours scoured the dark paddocks.
Finally, Simon Buckley thought he heard someone talking in the dark. He stopped to listen, then heard it again.
Using a radio-telephone, he spoke to stock manager Jacques Reinhardt, giving him directions on where to head.
Soon after, at 8.20pm, Simone was found, quite relaxed and still clutching her sister's jacket.
"Jacques' partner rang me on my cellphone, saying they had found her," Sophie said.
"I yelled 'is she all right' and she just managed to say 'yes', before the phone cut out."
Simone told her rescuers she had been trying to find Gemma to give her the coat and had taken a lie down to look at the stars.
Later the couple discovered Simone had followed a fenceline, knowing that was the one she had been helping her dad construct about 10 days earlier, and she had thought if she was to find him it would be there.
James said he and Sophie had nothing but praise and thanks for locals and police who joined the search.
Most of all they wanted to thank Mr Buckley, who had picked up the strains of the wee girl chatting to herself.
James said: "Simon has a reputation locally for being able to cover ground in a hurry, walking."
Back home, Simone was unfazed by her experience, although she wanted to know if the fire was on.
"She wasn't cold, thanks to the warm jacket she was wearing," Sophie said.
