A police officer is urging children to discuss their problems, rather than run away, after two siblings were found this afternoon following an extensive search.
Harlem Rimene-McRae, 12, and Lyrik Rimene-McRae, 10, left their Masterton home on pushbikes on Sunday night.
Police said the pair were found near the Te Ore Ore Road bridge in Masterton this afternoo after their bikes were spotted by a member of the public.
Lyrik Rimene-McRae, 10, and Harlem Rimene-McRae, 12, have not been seen since Sunday. Photo: Police
But detective sergeant Mike Smith said the situation could have ended badly.
"They appeared to have some warm clothing with them, but were very fortunate in the weather conditions of the last 48 hours.
"They certainly left some correspondence with their intentions. It would appear they had been thinking about this and put a degree of planning into it."
Dean Rennie, who with his wife has been guardian of Harlem and Lyrik for about six years, says his wife discovered the children were missing when she got up on Monday morning.
"Harlem the eldest... left a note saying 'we're leaving, don't follow us'.
"My wife and I were both horrified, we checked the property - first thing we did was ring the police and alert them, then we started searching."
Harlem's teacher from Masterton Intermediate School, Nicola Veale, said all of his classmates were worried about him.
"I was obviously relieved and delighted and feeling a lot happier to talk to the students...It was exciting we could all talk about the fact he was safe."
Police visited homes in the children's neighbourhood today, as well as homes of other family members in the region and a police spokesperson said the children had since been found.
The bicycles belonging to the pair were found and shortly afterwards the two children were located as a result of information from the public, police said.
The two left their home sometime after 10pm on Sunday 1 May.
In a posting on Facebook, a family member said the brother and sister were heading to Wellington.
Mr Rennie said the children would be sleeping in their own beds tonight, and it was a relief to have them home.
