A US tourist has been found safe and well in bushland on the NSW South Coast after spending two nights lost in a national park, police say.
Alyce Tidball, 65, had set off for a bushwalk at 3pm on Saturday from the rural property where she had been staying in the Deua River Valley area in the Deua National Park, about 40 kilometres north-west of Moruya.
Ms Tidball, who is believed to have been in Australia for about a month, phoned friends to say that she had become lost while walking alone. Her phone battery ran out, and she did not return from her walk.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said the woman was found just before 11.30am on Monday. She was suffering from some minor injuries but could walk on her own. NSW Ambulance paramedics were due to assess her condition at the scene.
Ms Tidball's daughter, Anna, said from the US that she was "so relieved" to hear her mother had been found.
She posted on Facebook: "My mother has been found!!!!!"
"I couldn't be more grateful for all of you over there in Australia and your community. It means the world to my family and I," she wrote.
Anna had been preparing to travel to Australia to join the search party when the news came through.
Earlier, she had pleaded in an online post for help to find her mother.
Ms Tidball is believed to have been an employee of the US Department of State, and has worked in international relations positions across the world, including Afghanistan and Mexico.
Earlier, Stephen Leahy, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter chief executive, said conditions for the air search on Monday were ideal.
"There are clear skies and light winds and it's reasonably warm," he said.
"That allows us to do what we call low and slow flying. It's an area that is surrounded by dense forest, so we're trying to look down into creek lines, fire trails and through tree canopies to see if we can locate her."
