Two seven-year-old girls who disappeared for nearly 20 hours during a family camping trip near Orange in central western NSW have been found "safe and well."
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The children had been climbing hills and were last seen on the opposite bank of a fast flowing creek at Ophir Reserve in Ophir about 4pm on Saturday.
About 12.30pm on Sunday, NSW Police released a statement saying the girls had been winched to safety by a police helicopter. They will be taken to Orange Hospital for medical checks.
The girls, who are not believed to be related, were with a family group that had set up camp at the reserve, and spent the day bushwalking.
The two girls did not return to the campsite with other family members that afternoon, sparking a major search involving police helicopters and flood boats.
The camp site was located near a creek and pond, and the reserve was dotted with relics from its mining past, including abandoned shafts and tunnels.
Family members and emergency service workers remained at the campsite, about 25 kilometres north of Orange, overnight.
The site is located near a creek and pond, and the reserve dotted with relics from its mining past, including abandoned tunnels and shafts.
Cabonne Council mayor Ian Gosper said the bushland was dense.
"It is quite rugged. It is quite a steep area," Cr Gosper said.
"It's an old gold mining area that is a popular recreation area for bushwalkers. A lot of people go there."
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Neale Fraser said temperatures had dropped to one degree in the area overnight. Visibility was good on Sunday, with rain expected to fall late Monday morning.
"For much of the night it would have been about five or six degrees until the early hours of the morning, when it dropped to one degree by 6am," he said.