A dog has been found alive following an extraordinary helicopter search and rescue mission.
The rescue of Molly the border collie on Tuesday was the culmination of efforts co-ordinated by Precision Helicopters and funded through donations.
Molly became separated from her owner, Jessica Johnston, on March 17 when she fell down a waterfall and was seriously injured in a remote area near the Campbell Bivouac on the scrubline of the Campbell Range in the Arahura Valley, according to the helicopter rescuers.
Pilot Matt Newton said he had flown three missions to the area to see if he could spot Molly and was unsuccessful.
On Tuesday, with a vet nurse on board and using a thermal camera, a small team of people spotted the dog at the foot of the waterfall where Johnston fell.
"It was a 55m fall. It was incredible that [Johnston] survived and she was picked up by a rescue helicopter a few weeks ago. No one's sure whether the dog went over or not or whether it just made its way down to her but she had it in her hand when she fell.
"Because she was a bit wasted at the bottom, she couldn't remember whether the dog came down with her or not," he said.
Newton said Johnston was seriously injured and was only recently discharged from hospital. She was making her way to the helicopter base to be reunited with Molly.
Newton sent her a satellite message as soon as her dog was found.
"We were just making our way up the river to the most likely location where we felt that she would be, which is where Jess, her owner had fallen two weeks ago. We had the thermal equipment, and she came up on the screen glowing red hot," he said.
"As we got closer, we could see it was actually her because other things can glow like possums and deer and goats and shammies and stoats and who knows, but it was the dog. We were stoked. Yeah, absolutely stoked."
Newton said he had a little cry after getting Molly on board the chopper. She was in good condition, he said.
"I'd say she'd been scragging the odd possum and I'm sure she wouldn't have killed any kiwis. She knows the rules there because she's been kiwi trained. I'm pretty sure she's been munching on the odd possum and she's in pretty good condition, considering."
In a Facebook post, Johnston said she was "blown away" by the support.
"I'd like to give the biggest thank you to all that have taken the time to donate with both funding, volunteering and sharing her posts," she said.
"I'm absolutely blown away with the support everyone has given her so far from the kindest of strangers. Obviously devastated I'm not in a physical state to provide help on the ground. But with the support that's been given a lot can be achieved for those that can. Incredibly grateful for how much was raised in a short period.
"Thank you for helping bring my Molly back home."
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