A search and rescue operation on hills near Dunedin on Saturday ended with the arrest of the search subject.
Incident controller Senior Constable Don Peat said walkers on Swampy Summit on Saturday notified police about 3pm, concerned that a 24-year-old man they had come across was under-prepared for the snowy conditions, and particularly not for a night in the cold.
The man, from Christchurch, had told the people his intention was to walk back to the city off-road. A search and rescue operation was launched, with a helicopter searching for about an hour before dark, and dropping a search team on the hills, Snr Const Peat said.
Six search and rescue teams, including about 30 people from police, LandSAR, radio operators and a Land Rover Club, were involved in the search by the time police received a call from a farmer in Double Hill Rd near Waitati asking if they were looking for the man.
The man had appeared at the farm about 5pm in a "mildly hypothermic" condition.
It turned out the man was wanted by police in Christchurch for not turning up in court after being charged with some reasonably low-scale criminal matters, Snr Const Peat said.
He was taken to the Dunedin Central police station, where he was warmed up and arrested.
He will appear in the Dunedin District Court this morning.
