A search was just being started for a fisherman who had gone missing off Shag Point yesterday when the 56-year-old Alexandra man turned up at his holiday home, safe but wet.
The man had gone fishing about 10.30am yesterday from the Shag Point boat ramp up to 2.5km offshore in an inflatable boat.
When he had not returned to his Shag Point holiday home by about 2.30pm, his partner notified police.
Palmerston constable Stefan Witehira said the man did not have a lifejacket and was not familiar with the area.
Two other fisherman, including one experienced commercial fisherman who had seen the 4.5m inflatable earlier in the day, went out to search while North Otago marine search and rescue was preparing to call out more searchers.
Mr Witehira said said the man was heading back to shore about midday, when the sea was getting rough, and went into the Shag River mouth.
As he was coming out of the river mouth, a wave flipped the inflatable boat.
The man managed to swim ashore and then retrieve his craft.
By the time he had done that and walked back to Shag Point, police had been notified he was missing and had started to instigate a search about 3pm.
The search was called off.
