Jon Ellison, 44, was last seen on March 12 leaving home in his car, before it was found abandoned almost a week later.
His disappearance had sparked search and rescue efforts around the North Dunedin area, with police combing through a week’s worth of CCTV footage in a bid to track him down.
On Monday afternoon, 13 days later, Mr Ellison was discovered near Bethunes Gully by a member of the public who sounded the alarm.
Mr Ellison’s stepfather, Murray Cumming, said Mr Ellison’s family were quiet but overjoyed, with messages of support flooding in from friends and family across the country and Australia.
He described the family’s reaction to Mr Ellison’s return as "happy pandemonium".
"He’s in hospital and doing well.
"We’re hoping he will be discharged tomorrow.
"Yesterday was clouded optimism, and today ... is quite euphoric."
Mr Cumming believed Mr Ellison had "bounced down a rock face and into a hole" and had been presumably knocked out for some time, before crawling his way out.
While there were no broken bones, Mr Ellison’s feet and legs were "absolutely shot to ribbons", he said.
Mr Cumming said he and search and rescue teams had combed Bethunes Gully and found it was "absolute tiger country". Members of the public involved in the search effort had found the terrain difficult to navigate.
"It’s just that huge testament to his deep down fortitude and his willpower to overcome the exposure.
"I don’t know if he was concussed but he was definitely out of it ... definitely delirious at times due to lack of water and the fall."
Operation controller Sergeant Nathan White said finding Mr Ellison was amazing and had put a lot of people at ease.
The family had been understanding and very supportive of the challenges LandSAR had faced in finding Mr Ellison and was pleased they now had closure.
"They were doing a lot of searching themselves, and I know how tiring and emotionally draining that can be for them also.
"For them to now have that bit of happy closure, it’s great."
Sgt White said it was likely Mr Ellison had been in Bethunes Gully the entire time they had been looking for him.
"Had Jon been walking around in the state he was in, we would have had plenty of sightings.
"That leads me to think he was probably in that area in Bethunes Gully that entire time."
Sgt White said there had been "quite an extensive" inquiry phase of combing through CCTV to pinpoint areas to search within about a 250km radius of where Mr Ellison’s car was discovered.
Mr Ellison was captured on CCTV driving away from his flat on March 12, and footage later emerged of him about 20 minutes later walking along Norwood St towards Bethunes Gully.
