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JARRED WILLIAMSON / THINGS
Police say they were notified of the missing vagrants around 3.35pm on Saturday. (File photo)
A married couple rescued after being trapped by swollen rivers in eastern Otago is extremely grateful to the volunteer seekers who found them.
The homeless men, in their 20s, flew to Dunedin by helicopter around 10 a.m. Sunday after a team of volunteer Ground Search and Rescue (LandSAR) caught up with them at Jubilee Hut, in the Silver Peaks Scenic Preserve north of Dunedin, around 4 am
Police Incident Control Officer Brent Mitchell said the couple had stayed at the cabin overnight Friday, but were unable to leave the next day due to rising rivers.
Heavy rains have caused river swells and surface flooding across Otago this weekend.
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The alarm was raised at 3.55pm on Saturday when the couple did not return to Dunedin when expected.
Five volunteer LanSAR teams began searching for them on Saturday night.
Only one team was able to find a viable route to the cabin, and the other teams were forced to return due to flooding and rivers.
Searchers exited the Mountain Rd parking lot at 10 p.m. and a team arrived at the cabin around 4 a.m. after walking through dense brush and brush in heavy rain.
Mitchell said the couple were “extremely grateful” to the searchers and everyone involved in the rescue.
A comment in a post on Dunedin LandSAR’s Facebook page said the missing party had been “located safely and securely in a cabin in Silver Peaks.”
“Congratulations to the search teams operating in appalling weather conditions.”
The Department of Conservation described the multiple routes through Silver Peaks as “challenging” and traversing “rugged country”.
