A family of four have been spotted and rescued in the Australian outback after they went missing for 48 hours.
On Tuesday a multi-agency search was launched and a four-wheel-drive was spotted by helicopter, when the Queensland family did not return to their destination - the small town of Packsaddle in NSW.
Darian Aspinall, 27, along with her two children Winter Bellamy, two, and Koda Bellamy, four, and their grandmother, 50-year-old Leah Gooding, left the Noccundra Hotel on Warry Gate Road in South West Queensland between 12.30pm and 3pm on Sunday.
But a police investigation was launched after the family of four were reported missing in the desert and were uncontactable.
The family had run out of food and water when a helicopter spotted their car off-track 50 kilometres south east of Tibooburra, in the far north-west of NSW, late on Tuesday afternoon.
Photos show the family using their clothes to wave at the helicopter to get the pilot's 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," Nick Shew, AeroTech Hems pilot told 9News.
Police say Google Maps took them off track and onto a dirt road where they eventually got stuck.
According to the family, they tried to walk for four hours for help but decided to return to their car where they remained for 48 hours before they were found.
"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," Shew said.
The pilots who rescued the family said they were relieved.
However, they said the children were more excited when emergency services gave them packets of Twisties and water.
The family's stopover in Packsaddle was supposed to be part of their journey onto Adelaide.
SA and Queensland Police, the Australian Maritime Authority, and volunteers scoured the area around Tibooburra, Broken Hill, Wilcannia, and Packsaddle to find them.
A geo-targeted text message was also sent to residents in Packsaddle, Tibooburra, Broken Hill and surrounding areas in NSW's far west region.
All four family members were safe and well inside the vehicle and were assessed by a paramedic on the helicopter before being transported to Tibooburra for further assessment.
Those involved in the search effort thanked the public for their support.
