Editorial: Missing driver finally found

James Williams

Rotorua man James Williams must be feeling pretty loved right now.

The local lad sparked a national search after failing to turn up at his destination in Wellington after leaving Rotorua on Thursday.

Police put out a national media release on Friday night as his family members feared the worst. Loved ones also started searches in the lower North Island fearing they would find he had come to a sticky end.

Social media played a huge part with a plea for information about his whereabouts on Facebook being shared more than 100 times.

Turns out Mr Williams has a self-confessed "bad sense of direction".

A combination of factors meant he didn't make it to Wellington on time and he had no idea he had caused such commotion.

His car broke down, he had no idea where he was and he walked for hours trying to find help, being forced to sleep a couple of nights in his car.

Crucial to the woes of this man was the fact he didn't have one thing - his mobile phone.

If he had his phone, as he normally does, he could have made a quick call for help, or even sent a text message explaining his situation to family and friends.

Wind the clock back 20 years and it's a wonder we coped. In those days we weren't worried if someone didn't get in contact or was late. We just knew something would have come up.

Nowadays with so many ways of communicating, it's automatic to think the worst.

It's such great news to report today Mr Williams is safe and well.

One of his relatives commented on Facebook the family might get him microchipped - it's not a bad idea.