Major update after father disappeared without a trace while camping in remote NSW

By MATT JONES, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 07:12, 8 April 2026 | Updated: 07:29, 8 April 2026 A father who went missing while alone on a camping trip has been found following a desperate plea from his family for help. Phil Hutchison's son Michael made a public appeal to find his missing father who disappeared last week. The 62-year-old hadn't been seen or heard from since April 2 after he went travelling in remote parts of northern NSW with a van and caravan. His family asked people around Guy Fawkes River National Park, the Ebor, Dalmorton and Nymboida River areas and Marendo Road and Chaelundi Road to keep a lookout for him as he was planning to do some biking on nearby trails. Mr Hutchison's family raised the alarm after his van was found without the caravan attached, north of Lismore. It's a vast area, with Guy Fawkes River National Park at least 300km away from where his van was found. Mr Hutchison's son Michael made an appeal on social media to help find his father, saying he may be with his caravan in a remote area with limited phone signal. 'We've got some really distressing news to share,' he wrote on Facebook. Phil Hutchison has been found alive and well after going missing while on a camping trip  The 62-year-old was camping and biking in northern NSW The possible search area was vast 'Our dad is missing. He went camping over the Easter weekend, but nobody has heard from him since. 'We are concerned for his welfare. Please contact me, our family or police if you've got any details and/or share this post.' On Wednesday afternoon, Michael released a statement on Facebook simply saying, 'Update: Phil has been located and is uninjured.' 'He has reported to police and is no longer a missing person.'  NSW Police told Daily Mail they had received no report of Mr Hutchison missing. Daily Mail contacted Mr Hutchison's family for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.