Lost hunters lit fire to keep warm

A police spokesperson said Mr Cooksley and Mr Lane made their way out to State Highway 29 near Ngamuwahine Rd and used a mobile phone to contact family. The "tired and cold" men did not require medical assistance and were picked up by family.

The pair entered the bush from Whakamarama Road entrance about 4am on Tuesday and were due to come out again by 9am but failed to do so.

A police spokesperson said the hunters managed to make a cellphone call to their family at 11am on Tuesday to report they were lost before the phone cut out. Police were advised at 4.20pm, and search and rescue personnel and volunteer Land Search and Rescue teams swung into action and began searching the bush overnight, including using a TECT rescue helicopter.

 

The missing pair were not experienced hunters and had limited knowledge of the area, police said. It was understood Mr Cooksley and Mr Lane were equipped only with the clothing they were wearing along with a firearm and torch, and had no food or supplies with them. Search and rescue teams from the Waikato joined the operation at first light yesterday but Mr Cooksley and Mr Lane managed to walk out under their own steam.

"It was pretty cold night but we managed to light a fire and make a bit of shelter to keep ourselves warm."

Family and friends waited at the Whakamarama Rd entrance to the Kaimai Range, including Brian Cooksley, 51, from Aongatete who said while he and the family were concerned for the men's safety, they were "hopeful of a good outcome".

A close friend of Mark Cooksley, who wished to be known only as Murphy, said: "As a commercial fisherman, Mark is definitely used to spending long periods of time in the outdoors, and he's quite capable of looking after himself."

"He's the sort of person who will happily drink concrete and is happy to share with us," he said.