Information from the public was the key to finding an elderly Alexandra man who had been missing overnight, just as the search for him was being intensified yesterday.
The search began after Russell Young (81) was reported missing on Wednesday night.
He was found safe and well just before noon yesterday, after his vehicle ran off the road and down a bank at Jacobs Ladder, in Gabriel's Gully, near Lawrence.
Mr Young, who has Alzheimer's, had apparently spent the night in his car and was cold and disoriented when found, still in the vehicle, Central Otago police sub-area commander Senior Sergeant Ian Kerrisk said. The vehicle was undamaged.
Mr Young was checked at a medical centre in Milton but did not require hospital treatment and was now staying with family in Dunedin, Snr Sgt Kerrisk said.
During the search, police appealed to the public through the media for sightings of Mr Young's red Toyota Corolla vehicle.
That paid off when police were able to narrow down the area for the search as a result of information received and then a member of the public contacted them after seeing the car in Gabriel's Gully. Police were already in the area, only a short distance away.
''Without the help of the public, we could've been continuing with a long and complicated search over a huge area and there might not have been such a good outcome,'' Snr Sgt Kerrisk said.
The missing man was a keen angler and the search, which involved 16 people as well as a helicopter, initially focused on popular fishing spots.
Police searched for the vehicle street by street in Alexandra and Clyde, while search and rescue volunteers visited dams and other fishing spots in the wider area.
''We had obvious concerns for his safety, given his age, his condition and the fact he was out overnight,'' Snr Sgt Kerrisk said.
Mr Young had links to Queenstown-Wanaka as well as Clutha and Dunedin so the prospective search area was huge.
''One of the things that has come to light from this event is that with his vehicle, he was able to travel a large distance from his home.
"The matter of whether or not he should have been driving is something the police will be discussing with his family and with the NZ Transport Agency, which is the licensing authority.''
Mr Young's family were very relieved he had been found so quickly, Snr Sgt Kerrisk said.
