Local MP shares ‘extraordinary’ tale of finding missing man ‘waving frantically’ by small dam

The grazier and local MP who found a man missing for almost three weeks on his property has told of his miraculous find.

Michele and Tony Perrett found missing man Robert Weber near a dam on their property more than two weeks after the 58-year-old went missing.

After weeks of searching his 15,000 acre property for a missing man, Gympie MP Tony Perrett and his wife found Robert Weber sitting under a tree, frantically waving at them.

The 58-year-old had been missing since January 6, when he was seen leaving a Kilkivan hotel with his dog, bound for Rockhampton.

His disappearance sparked a frantic land and air search from police, with musterers on Mr Perrett’s property discovering the man’s car bogged on a rural track in a far corner of the land 12 days later.

Unfortunately, nobody had seen Mr Weber or his dog in that time, forcing police to scale back the search.

The Perretts continued the mission though, hopeful there was still a chance to find him alive.

They set off on Sunday morning, searching paddocks in the southwest of the property, and found the man sitting by a stock watering dam, three kilometres from where his car had been found.

Robert Weber was found on a property, almost three weeks since he went missing. Picture: QPS

Mr Weber told police he and his dog had stayed with the car for three days until he ran out of water, and in searching for supplies got lost.

In an “extraordinary” tale of survival, Mr Weber said he survived for 18 days on “wild mushrooms and dam water” until he was spotted by the Perrett’s on Sunday morning.

Mr Perrett said they had prepared themselves for the worst case scenario, but described finding the man as incredible.

“We’d searched this one paddock previously, but there were a few spots we hadn’t looked … we didn’t see him,” he told NCA NewsWire.

“As we were driving out of the paddock through a small set of stock yards, about 100m away is a dam … We came up over the crest of this small ridge beside the yards and looked down towards the dam and there he was.

“Under a tree, adjacent to the dam, frantically waving.”

An air and land search was scaled back last week due to tough conditions. Picture: Ch 7 Sunshine Coast

Mr Perrett called police to tell them the good news. While Mr Weber waited for an ambulance, the Perretts fed him a small meal and some cordial.

Mr Perrett said finding the man had been “incredible” considering the harsh nature of the country.

“He’s a larger gentleman and not very agile. He was just in the right spot (yesterday),” Mr Perrett said.

“But he was still in good spirits and surprisingly well.

“Every day that went past (that we didn’t find him) was concerning … When police suspended their search we were determined to do our best (to find him).

“Robert’s best chance of survival was finding a water point, so we kept going. When we saw him … it was an emotional moment.”

Mr Weber went missing with his dog, but when Mr Perrett found the man, the dog wasn’t with him.

“He indicated when he ran low of supplies and left the vehicle, the dog didn’t follow him,” Mr Perrett said.

“Then he became lost and didn’t get back to his car … When the vehicle was found though the dog wasn’t there.

“We’ll keep an eye out as we travel around, but we don’t know what’s happened to it.”