A family overdue from a fishing trip in Kawakawa Bay south of Auckland yesterday has been found safe and well.
The group who were overdue from a fishing trip at Kawakawa Bay have been found safe and well. Photo: Flickr / Mark in NZ
A search had been underway for the vessel which had an adult and four children onboard but it was located by coastguard volunteers onboard Trillian Rescue Trust just after 10am.
The family was located at Waimango Point, 5 miles from where they launched at Kawakawa Bay.
"The vessel wasn't in any difficulty, they had fuelled up last night at Thames and camped overnight before heading out fishing again today," Coastguard duty officer John Cowan said in a statement.
"The vessel did not have a VHF Radio and the mobile on board had run out of battery. It's a welcome relief to worried family members at home and just a great outcome for all involved," he said.
Cowan thanked the volunteers who searched last night and this morning and members of the public for the reported sightings of the vessel, one of which enabled them to narrow the search and ultimately find the group.