Moment missing family are rescued in outback NSW

The family were waving their clothes in the air in an effort to get the attention of a rescue helicopter. Photo / Supplied/Nine News

Footage has emerged of the moment a family of four were found after they went missing without food and water for more than two days in outback NSW.

Darian Aspinall, 27, and her two young children aged 2 and 4 – along with their grandmother, Lead Gooding, 50 – were travelling from Queensland to Adelaide in an effort to move states when their Google maps directed them off track and they got bogged.

The family were found by a helicopter crew who spotted their vehicle along a dirt road in southeast Tibooburra in far northwest NSW on Tuesday.

The family were found on a dirt road in northwest NSW. Photo / Supplied/Nine News

The family were waving their clothes in the air in an effort to get the attention of a rescue helicopter. Photo / Supplied/Nine News

AeroTech Hems pilot Nick Shrew said the family were waving their clothes in the air in an effort to get his attention.

"The ladies there were waving at us and so as we passed down one side I opened the window and waved back at them to let them know that we'd seen them," he said.

"It was plainly clear when we landed and got out of the aircraft the sense of relief that they had, it was an emotional moment."

The family are now safe and well. Picture / Supplied/Nine News

It is believed that the family walked for four hours for help before returning to their car.

Detective Inspector Tom Aylett warned residents against GPS systems that reroute to roads "that aren't accessible" in a press conference on Tuesday.

The family left Noccundra Hotel on Warry Gate Road in Queensland between 12.30pm and 3pm on Sunday.

However, a police investigation was then launched after the family of four were reported missing in the desert and could not be contacted.

But there was a breakthrough on Tuesday afternoon when police reported that the family had been found safe and well.

They said a "search and rescue helicopter located a vehicle off-track, about 50km southeast of Tibooburra, about 4.15pm today".

"The helicopter landed, and confirmed it was the Hyundai Tucson, with the four occupants located safe and well inside the vehicle."

The children's father Linny Bellamy told of his family's actions to ensure they'd survive while stuck alone in the outback for two straight days.

He said they relied on roadside puddles for sustenance and used a mirror to attract the attention of a police search aircraft.

"I can't believe they managed to stay as strong as they did," Bellamy said.

"They looked after each other and just tried to ration everything out."

He said other than looking tired, his family seemed themselves.