He said his son had fallen in the forest and was knocked unconscious for a period, probably 30 minutes or so, during the ordeal.
Inside the helicopter after the teen was rescued. Photo / Royal NZ Air Force
He was unsure how his son became separated from the group or how he had fallen.
He was hugely grateful for the efforts of all involved in the search who brought his son home safely, and for the support from the school.
He said if it weren’t for the helicopter, it would have been very difficult to locate his son.
“He saw the helicopter and [yelled] ‘help me, help me’,” the dad said.
The RNZAF has since shared a post about the rescue.
“Crew on an NH90 helicopter say it was a great result after finding a missing teenager in the Ruahine Forest Park and flying him to safety.
The helicopter crew after spotting the lost teen. Photo / Royal NZ Air Force
“The crew had been in the area conducting mountain flying training when they were retasked to respond to the search and rescue operation for the student.
“The teenager had become separated from his group, prompting a search by New Zealand Police and Land Search and Rescue volunteers.
“The NH90 crew began their aerial search in the vicinity of Sunrise Hut.
“They searched tracks in that area along with Top Maropea Hut before conducting aerial searches along the Waipawa River Valley, which is where they found the teenager.
“They winched the student into the helicopter and flew him to safety, where he was met by police and reunited with family.
“The crew also then extracted ground search volunteers who had spent a long night searching for the teenager after he was reported missing on Tuesday.”
After the rescue, a Taradale High School spokeswoman said they were “thrilled”.
“We want to say a huge thank you to the police, Land Search and Rescue personnel, our staff and everyone else involved in the search.”