As luck would have it, Claire Bett was a sober driver at a New Year’s Eve party. She noticed a small dog mixing with the partygoers which prompted her to check out a media website photo of a missing dog and its owner.

Still not quite sure, at 10pm Claire messaged a friend and the mother of missing Waihi man, Jordan van Deursen, who responded by sending back a photograph of the missing animal.

The dog sitting next to her on a couch was the one in the photograph – Claire shed tears realising she had found Bargo, who had been missing in the Coromandel ‘s Wentworth Valley area since October 29, last year.

Bargo had made it from the eastern end of the Wentworth River track to the Wires Road and the Maratoto track – some six and a half hours of walking. He walked into the isolated house on December 30.

The next day in Thames, Bargo was reunited with the mother of the missing man and other family and friends.

A fortunate twist was that if Claire had not recognised Bargo, the next day another partygoer who had befriended Bargo, was going to rehome him to Tauranga, meaning the connection would not have been made.

Jordan has brown bushy hair, is of a thin build and around 175cm tall. NZ Police / Photo supplied.

Jordan van Deursen failed to return from a hike in the Wentworth valley area with his terrier Bagho on October 29, and the official search was suspended after 10 days.

Police have now confirmed Bahgo has been found.

“The dog turned up at a rural address near to one of the track entrances linked to where Jordan was last known to be,” police say in a statement.

“The dog was then reunited with Jordan’s family and police were alerted.”

But there was still no sign of van Deursen, 29.

“Police and Land SAR are assessing the circumstances around Jordan’s dog being found, and reviewing information provided by the public,” the statement says.

Claire Bett with Bargo the terrier, which with his owner Jordan van Deursen failed to return from a hike in the Wentworth valley area on October 29. The official search was suspended after 10 days. Photo: Supplied.

A relative of van Deursen previously tells RNZ Bahgo was the 29-year-old’s “best friend”.

“He’s hiking every day with his mate, his little dog, his best friend, he knows a bit about the bush but not enough to be out there this long,” says uncle Mario Kerkhof.

“I doubt he would’ve taken much with him if he was going for a quick hike, he would’ve just taken the basics, he probably wouldn't even have taken any water knowing Jordan, he does rough it a bit.

“I think he had tramping boots and might have had a jersey.”

The alarm was not raised until three days after van Deursen began his Sunday hike, after his car was spotted still in the carpark the following Wednesday.

By then the weather had turned incredibly bad, with the tail of Cyclone Lola lashing the area.

An air and land search had not turned up any clues, and was suspended after 10 days.

Now Bargo’s return has prompted significant social media activity with plans being prepared for locals to take horses into the bush, along with Bargo, to see if they can locate any trace of Jordan.

A family spokesman said hope had passed for finding Jordan alive, but they still wanted to bring him home.

Police ask anyone with information on Jordan’s whereabouts to please contact 105 and reference the file number 231101/9734.

RNZ and John Freer/CFM Coromandel