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The incredible moment a family who vanished in the outback is FOUND alive after a helicopter spots their car 50km off the road
- Queensland family went missing in NSW outback during long-distance road trip
- Google Maps threw them off course and they were stranded in the desert
- Darian Aspinall was travelling with her two children and their grandmother
- Family left South West Queensland on Sunday headed for Packsaddle in NSW
- After a multi-agency search they were found safe and well on Tuesday
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This is the dramatic moment a family of four was spotted and rescued in the Australian outback after they went missing for 48 hours.
Their four-wheel-drive was spotted by helicopter on Tuesday after a multi-agency search was launched when the Queensland family did not arrive at 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.
However, a police investigation was then launched after the family of four were reported missing in the desert and could not be contacted.
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.
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
Darian Aspinall (left) has been found with her children Winter Bellamy, two, and Koda Bellamy, four, and their 50-year-old grandmother
A police investigation was launched after the family failed to arrive at their destination and could not be contacted (pictured, the two children Winter and Koda Bellamy)
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 onto a dirt road where they eventually got stuck.
According to the family 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.
The family left Noccundra Hotel on Warry Gate Road in South West Queensland between 12.30pm and 3pm on Sunday (pictured, a map detailing their movements)
The family 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
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.