Missing family found safe and well in the Firth of Thames

Following an overnight search for an overdue vessel from Kawakawa Bay and a subsequent search by Coastguard Volunteers this morning in the Firth of Thames, the family and overdue vessel have been located safe and well by Coastguard Volunteers onboard Trillian Trust Rescue shortly after 10am.

Coastguard wants to thank the members of the public for the reported sightings of the a vessel matching the description. It meant we were able to narrow the search and upon tracking back between a reported sighting and Kawakawa Bay we were able to locate them 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. 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", says John Cowan, Coastguard Duty Officer.

“Credit to the Volunteers who jump out of bed last night to head out and search and again for the team effort out on the water this morning in tough visibility given the weather conditions,” says Mr Cowan.

ENDS

For more information, contact: 
Ben Parsons 
Coastguard New Zealand Senior Communications Advisor 
[email protected]