It was sheer luck that gave life back to a man with Alzheimers, even after he spent several hours in an ice cold stream!

The 67-year-old, residing in Ngaruawahia, left for his regular 6km walk, but never returned.

Concerned family members reported to the police. At around 2.30am, the search party found the old man in a small stream, with one shoulder under the water.

The police believed that the man had fallen through a safety rail on a footbridge, into a cold muddy stream adjacent to the Waipa River.

The man was in distressed state when he was found by the search party.

The man was immediately taken to Waikato hospital and treated for hypothermia.