Police, VRA, ambulance and AMSA find 81-year-old man trapped in scrub in freezing conditions

But with the help of the community, and advanced aerial technology, he was home safe the very next morning.

"I thought for the life of me this situation would turn out differently. I had grave doubts for him and so did everyone else in the rescue community," Inspector Rob Waugh, the officer-in-charge of the operation, said.

At around 7:45pm on Saturday July 30, the NSW Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) Coonabarabran Squad were activated by NSW Police to assist in a search for the farmer who had become bogged in his Polaris ATV while looking for missing cattle on a neighbouring property, about 12km from Mendooran.

Seeing no way out of the thick bushes and shrubs, he called his wife to let her know he was stuck before his mobile phone battery ran out.

Six officers from the Orana Mid-Western Police District, 16 VRA members and three NSW Ambulance personnel - along with local property owners - began a search for the man around the property's paddocks on foot and in 4WDs.

With the temperature plummeting to 5 degrees, and the farmer unprepared for the night's cold, rescuers became worried about his condition.

READ ALSO:

Unable to mobilise PolAir or Westpac Rescue Helicopters, NSW Police called the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) for help.

At 11:40pm, AMSA's Response Centre tasked the Melbourne-based Challenger rescue aircraft, which is kitted out with thermo and ground scanning technology, to assist with the night search.

"The technology they've got these days is just incredible. That was the pivotal moment for the man's life," inspector Waugh said.

"Having AMSA there with that capability changed the whole focus of the search. We had to move all the rescue personnel away from the area so AMSA could look at every object in the area that was giving off heat.

At approximately 4:30am, the search plane located the man's ATV about 4.5km from the Police Forward Command Post - he was sitting on the vehicle's bonnet, trying to keep warm.

The aircraft remained overhead to guide the ground rescue team to his location.

"It took us an hour on the ground to get to his location, in scrubby, difficult country. It was boggy and there was a lot of vegetation. It would have made it difficult to see him on land," he said.

After being examined by NSW Ambulance personnel, the man was brought home in fair condition at around 6:30am.

"He's one very lucky man from Mendooran," Inspector Waugh said.

The man's daughter said the family are "very grateful" for the "extremely professional and coordinated response" of the volunteer rescuers on scene.

"You saved my father's life. How can we ever repay you," she said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: