By Danielle Kutchel
A Langwarrin man who went missing in Lysterfield Park has been found safe and well.
Search crews came across missing man Paul sitting on the shore of Lysterfield Lake around 11am on Tuesday 24 August.
Paul had last been seen on Sunday 22 August at around 2pm, when he had been dropped off at the park.
SES and Victoria Police heralded the find as a great result for search crews and Paul’s family.
SES Commander Bryce Wickham said crews had received a request to assist Victoria Police with the search on Monday 23 August, and had initially spent five hours scouring the park for any trace of Paul.
Undaunted, on Tuesday the call went out again and 64 SES members from 19 units across the central region converged on the park to take up the search again.
Crews worked systematically through the park both on dry land and in the water, with three rescue boats brought in, a hill operating vehicle and multiple 4WDs on standby.
Family members also walked Lysterfield’s tracks to aid in the search and the park was closed to visitors so as not to interfere with the hunt.
George Katris, SES Deputy Controller for Port Phillip, was among the group that found Paul as they scoured the area by boat.
Coming to the western side of the water, Mr Katris said he noticed Paul by the water’s edge “just sitting, soaking in the sun”.
The SES crew quickly confirmed Paul’s identity by calling his name and checking him against the description they had been given.
“Basically he was in the bushes for the last two days,” Mr Katris said.
With no way to access the area save by boat or on foot, the decision was made to take Paul back to the opposite shore by boat, where he was reunited with his family and taken to hospital for a check-up.
“It was an amazing result, we were so wrapt that we found him,” Mr Katris said.
“I’m so proud of my team – this is what we’re trained for and to put it into practice, and for it to be textbook, is absolutely amazing.”
Peter Muys, Victoria Police Local Area Commander for the Yarra Ranges, said teams had been confident that as long as Paul had not entered the water, “there was every chance he would be alive” despite low overnight temperatures.
Around 30-40 police members, including some from the search and rescue and canine squads and the airwing, were deployed to assist with the search.
They spent time tracking down every potential sighting in the hours before Paul was found.
“We didn’t have anything further than that this is where he was last dropped off, that was all we had to go on,” LAC Muys said.
He thanked the SES for their commitment and the “great work” they put in to finding Paul.
“The credit goes to them for sure,” he said.
