Lost in the Coromandel Peninsula bush, a 29-year-old woman fired a SOS message to a friend via WhatsApp.
At 5.30pm this afternoon police were called to locate the woman who was walking alone in Kauaeranga Valley when she got lost.
Police said they were in the process of deploying the search and rescue team to look for her.
"We've told to her to stay put while we track her down her."
Her car had been found parked in the Kauaeranga Valley area, inland from Thames.