Leslie Wayne Butcher (52), a freezing worker, was saved by basic survival gear in his pack, but if he had carried a personal locator beacon - ''cheap insurance'' - he would have been rescued on Tuesday, when he first got into trouble, Waitaki District Search and Rescue co-ordinator Peter Muldrew said yesterday.
Instead, he had to survive a heavy frost on Tuesday night and a bitterly cold southerly storm on Wednesday night.
Donald Butcher, who raised the alarm on Wednesday night when he could not find his brother, feared for his safety, he told the Otago Daily Times.
''I had no sleep last [Wednesday] night,'' he said, but he still made it to an early morning SAR briefing yesterday at the Oamaru Police Station. He went home to collect gear to join the search and was then told his brother had been found.
''I was pretty relieved, I can tell you,'' he said.
Mr Muldrew said it was fortunate Les Butcher had some fruit, a survival blanket, cold-weather jacket and torch with a strobe light in his day pack.
''He was reasonably well prepared for a night out, but not much longer.''
Mr Butcher was ''very cold'' when found, but still coherent.
''We asked him his pain level, and he said that when he moved it was 10 out of 10,'' Mr Muldrew said.
While praising Mr Butcher for having the essentials to help him survive, Mr Muldrew said he would have ''struggled to make it another night''.
Mr Muldrew emphasised the real benefits of a personal locator beacon, and the need for people to notify someone about where they were going, when they would be back and what their plans were, then stick to them.
Mr Butcher went hunting deer on Tuesday on Department of Conservation land in the Mt Misery area, just inland from Waianakarua. He was due back on Tuesday night.
Donald Butcher said he knew his brother was going hunting, where he was heading and when he was due back.
About 6pm on Wednesday, when Donald Butcher saw his brother had not collected his mail, he went looking for him, finding his vehicle in a car park in Mt Misery Rd. His brother's dog, Maise, was beside it.
The dog had walked back to the vehicle - and that really worried Donald Butcher.
Donald Butcher had a headlamp ''and a bag of goodies'', so started searching, without a result.
He notified police about 9.30pm on Wednesday that his brother was missing - at that stage he was 24 hours overdue.
A team of five experienced search and rescue volunteers searched for Mr Butcher, but found nothing.
About 5.30am yesterday, the search resumed with a helicopter, while about 35 people in teams from Oamaru, Omarama and Dunedin, along with search dogs and a command unit, prepared to go in on ground searches.
However, an observer in the Central South Island Helicopters' craft spotted a light flashing under the bush, getting a rough location.
Because Mr Butcher was in rugged terrain at Shepherds Creek, the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter with a winch was called.
A team of three went in to make him comfortable until a paramedic was winched down to stabilise him. Mr Butcher was carried to where the helicopter could winch him up, then flown to Dunedin Hospital.
He was last night in a stable condition in an orthopaedic ward.
Donald Butcher said his brother had been hunting most of his life and was familiar with the area he was in.
''We always make sure someone knows where we are and when we'll get back, but usually allow a few hours' margin,'' he said.
His brother was dressed in quality thermal hunting clothes and always carried supplies, including a survival blanket, for emergencies.
