An eight-year-old boy was discovered “tired, hungry and cold” by a member of the public after going missing in Dunedin, triggering an extensive search.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said officers were called to reports of a missing child at Signal Hill Reserve at 6.20pm yesterday.

A dog team, mountain bikers and Search and Rescue volunteers worked to try to locate the child until he was found by a member of the public in Ravensbourne about 8pm.

The boy was “tired, hungry and cold” and was taken to hospital as a precaution by his parents, Bond said.

Police wanted to thank the efforts of the volunteer mountain bikers and Search and Rescue members who had assisted with the search, Bond said.

- Oscar Francis, ODT