A pair of hikers were found alive after being lost in a densely-forested national park in New Zealand for 18 days.
Dion Reynolds and Jessica O’Connor, both 23 years old, initially hiked into New Zealand’s Kahurangi National Park on 9 May for a five-day hiking excursion. Within the first few days of their hike the pair were quickly engulfed by a thick fog, causing them to lose their way and shelter.
When Reynolds and O’Connor failed to return home as planned, a friend reported the two as missing on 18 May. Police and volunteers then launched a search operation on 19 May, which included five tracking experts, three search dog teams, and two helicopter crews.
A search helicopter located them on Wednesday afternoon [27 May], and they were quickly taken to be medically assessed. Reynolds and O’Connor were both in good health after being rescued, only suffering minor injuries, according to police reports.
‘This is a fantastic outcome and one that we were all hoping for, although we were becoming increasingly concerned as the days progressed,’ said Nelson Bay’s Area Commander Paul Borrell.
Kahurangi is New Zealand’s second largest national park, spanning an impressive 1,1 million acres [450, 000 hectares] and is most well-known for the fact that parts of The Lord of the Rings-trilogy were shot there.
Image credit: Pixabay
