Stanley, 6, found alive

Oamaru, October 8: The community rejoiced yesterday when it became known that the small son of Mr and Mrs S. Morrison, of Waimotu Siding, some 10 miles from Oamaru, who had been lost in the hills near Herbert, had been found alive. It is nothing short of a miracle, as he had been without food and subjected to frightful weather since Sunday morning.

Mr S. Morrison took his boy Stanley, aged 6 years and 3 months, into the hills not far from Otepopo, where he intended inspecting some stock. The country in this vicinity is very wild and rugged, and covered with gorse and scrub. After proceeding some nine miles from Waimotu, Mr Morrison and the boy went up on to a hill, where the child was instructed to stand and await the return of his father. After waiting for a short time the boy decided to follow the father, and started out in his tracks. There is a small opening through the valley, and he followed through this. The father had turned up to the left, but the boy went on traversing mile after mile through scrub, gorse and bushes until, utterly exhausted, he lay down to sleep. The father returned to the place where the boy was last standing, and was surprised to find he had left. 

After a fruitless two hours search, he got a neighbour to carry on while he formed a search party. Rain began to fall towards the evening, but the party continued their work. Mr Morrison  was out with a party again on Monday morning.Throughout the day parties from all quarters of the district assembled, and under the guidance of Mr Morrison and the police, who went out at 4am on Monday morning, commenced a systematic search. Although the weather was fine in Oamaru on Tuesday, rain fell in torrents where the searchers were working, and the whole party returned late at night drenched to the skin. A heavy fog enveloped the countryside, making the conditions worse. A contingent of Waitaki High School boys arrived early in the day, and under the guidance of Senior Sergeant Shanahan the boys were organised.

Wednesday morning came, and the party of searchers was increased by some three to four hundred people.

All day Wednesday the search was continued, but late at night nothing had been seen of the boy. Everybody gave up hope of ever seeing him alive, and on Thursday morning the search party was further strengthened in the hope of finding the body.

The parties broke into contingents and worked outwards for miles. About 11.30 in the morning the cry went up that he was found, and alive. Immediately two horsemen dashed away for Dr Trotter, who responded immediately to the call. Mr Nathaniel Stephens, of Otepopo, a strong, hefty man, experienced in woodcraft, was the first to see the boy. He was not the discoverer, however. Accompanying Mr Stephens was a dog, and the animal was seen to go into some scrub, and then he yelped, Mr Stephens called out, and the child responded with a faint, "Dad! Dad!" It was but a few seconds before Mr Stephens was beside the child. The spot where the child was discovered was some five miles from the place where he and his father parted, and he was lying between two motokauri trees. — ODT, 9.10.1925

Compiled by Peter Dowden