The grateful family of a missing man has thanked the Gore community for its "unbelievable" help in finding him after a six-hour search.
A search was launched after 74-year-old Brian Sheppard left an address on McKellar St about 6pm yesterday.
A father and daughter duo found the man in a woolshed in Terry Rd around midnight.
“A huge thank you to the community - it is unbelievable the amount of people who got involved to help," the family said in a statement.
Police thanked everyone involved in the operation.
“We were impressed with the cohesive nature of our teams and the public who worked together to help find him.”
Police were particularly grateful to the family, wider community, LandSAR members, the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Team (AREC) Gore and Invercargill police, as well as police and SAR dog handlers who assisted.
"Search teams and the community responded with urgency with the weather being forecast to deteriorate.
"We are grateful to reunite this man with his family.
"A heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone involved for giving up their time and providing their expertise but especially the members of public who located him and took swift action contacting police and returning him safely."
