GYMPIE MP Tony Perrett never gave up hope of finding a man missing on his vast Kilkivan cattle station for almost three weeks alive.
And that determination paid off on Sunday when he and wife Michele made an early morning trip to one of their property's watering holes.
There, beside the dam and under the shade of a tree, sat Robert Weber who waved his hands frantically at the first people he had seen in 18 long days.
Mr Perrett said it was just sheer luck that led to Mr Weber being found on his 6000 hectare property, Tye.
The 58-year-old from Narangba had been last seen leaving a Kilkivan hotel with his dog in a white 2000 model Ford Falcon on January 6.
He was planning to drive to Rockhampton, but never arrived, prompting police to issue a missing person alert on Friday, January 15.
The following Sunday, Mr Perrett's team was out mustering when they spotted an abandoned two-wheel-drive vehicle about five kilometres off the main road down a paddock access track.
Mr Perrett reported the find to police, who launched a large scale search of the property.
""He's lucky we found the vehicle, if we hadn't mustered for another month we wouldn't have even known he was out there. It's not a very obvious part of the property and you would not expect to see a two-wheel drive vehicle there," Mr Perrett said.
A search of the immediate surrounds led by police, with the assistance of SES, property owners and aerial assets was called off on Wednesday.
But Mr Perrett said he had continued to go out with the hope of finding Mr Weber alive.
"My wife and I set off at daylight on Sunday morning and searched an adjoining paddock from where the car was found," Mr Perrett said.
"We went out of that one, through a small set of stock yards, from there a dam was about 100m away and we came over the crest and all of a sudden spotted him there, waving frantically at us.
"He was enormously relived, and we were too."
Mr Perrett said Mr Weber was barefoot, but was in otherwise good shape.
"He was in good spirits, he'd been subjected to the elements for a good couple of weeks, Monday last week there'd been 36mm of rain, and we've had some pretty warm days," Mr Perrett said.
"He said he'd kept hydrated and he'd been eating wild mushrooms."
Mr Perrett alerted authorities that Mr Weber had been found, then loaded him into the ATV to drive the 8km back to the homestead.
"We gave him a small meal, fruit jelly, cordial, buttered bread and made him a coffee as well."
Paramedics checked him over before he was taken to hospital for observation.
Mr Weber told police he had stayed with the car after it became bogged for three days, before he ran out of water. He got lost during his search for help and stayed at the dam, sleeping on the ground.
Mr Weber said his dog never followed him when he left the car, and it remains missing in the area.
