Thumbs up: Son, dad found
Family reunion comes after anxious wait when pair go missing in forest
For 7-year-old Jaxon Hughes it was a cold and wet night cuddled up with his dad, Jared, after the duo and their dog became lost in Puketi Forest. But Jaxon didn’t let the experience dampen his spirits and delighted rescuers with his positive attitude after he walked to safety and gave the team of volunteers high fives and the thumbs up.
But that was only after he had given his mum, Chrissy Harris, a big hug and told her: “I love you mum.”
The happy Sunday morning family reunion came after an anxious night of waiting and not knowing where the two from Kaikohe had disappeared after taking a dog for some exercise off Mokau Ridge Rd in the forest.
Jaxon and Jared were recuperating and were still shaken from the incident and did not want to speak publicly about their experience yet, Chrissy said.
Puketi Forest, which joins Omahuta, forms one of the largest remaining continuous tracts of native forest in Northland and covers more than 21,000 hectares.
Chrissy raised the alarm about 10.30pm on Saturday after being unable to contact her partner on his cellphone and suspecting something had gone wrong. She drove to the forest and after a hunter leaving the forest helped her find her partner’s blue ute parked up, she rang police.
Although Jared had hunted in the area before, the fact the ute was empty made Chrissy’s heart sink.
“If they had managed to find their way out they would have started driving home. The fact that it was there was a bad sign.”
It was when day broke Chrissy realised how vast the forest was.
“He’s my youngest, Jaxon, and I knew he couldn’t handle another night out there in the bush. It was hard sitting and waiting and not knowing.”
When she finally saw her son, about 1pm on Sunday, Chrissy said her heart jumped out of her chest.
“I can’t even explain the relief I was feeling at that moment. I was whole again,” she said. “I’m so grateful to the volunteers for finding my boys and saving their lives. There are so many good people in our community that care for each other.”
Far North Search and Rescue responded with 12 volunteers arriving in the dark to set up a base and begin their search just after midnight.
Search team planner Roger Ladd said once off the main track it did not take long to become disoriented in the dense undergrowth.
“We had no definitive idea where they had gone. It was raining and the temperature had dropped significantly and we knew they had only anticipated on going for a walk with the dog and weren’t that well prepared to spend the night out in the bush.” But after a long and stressful search the moment came when the family were reunited. Ladd said it was an emotional moment.
“He spotted his mum and they were hugging and crying and it was an emotional time, and for the searchers too. Then when he realised everyone in the tent had been looking for him he was up there giving them high fives,” Ladd said.
The Kerikeri builder had been involved in search and rescue for more than 20 years but he said that moment tugged at his heart strings.
“It’s so nice to see a positive outcome.”
Reinforcements came with the Northland Land Search and Rescue volunteers, from Whanga¯rei, arriving on Sunday morning to help.
A police search dog was also used and it was about 12.30pm on Sunday that rescuers finally heard a voice calling out. Both Jared and Jaxon were found and walked out on to the road and back to the search headquarters.
The head of the police search and rescue squad, Senior Sergeant Cliff Metcalfe, said it was a great outcome but there were some lessons from the incident. “Be prepared. Carry the right gear, know where you are at all times and don’t head into the bush when the weather forecast is bad. In this case they were not prepared, it’s as simple as that.”
He said that once lost the best advice was to remain in one place because it made searching for people much easier.