Hawke's Bay Police are urging people to use common sense after recent "stupidity" put rescuers' lives at risk during two dangerous rescue missions.

For those who have been lost, alone and hurt or in a life-threatening situation, seeing help in the form of a search and rescue team is literally a life-saver.

The body of a man who went missing last night has been found near the mouth of the Waikato River.

A man who crashed his trail bike, striking his groin on the handlebars, is lucky he wasn't injured somewhere more private.

A 10-year-old boy says he managed a 22km walk through Southland bush to safety because he watched the survival television series Man Vs. Wild "too much".