Cold and covered in scratches, Riley Martin was found face down on the ground in bushland near Shelley Beach just after 7am today.

He and his three pet dogs – two fox terriers and a kelpie – hadn't been seen since midday yesterday when he disappeared from his home at Nambucca Heads.

A couple from Kempsey saw an appeal for assistance on NSW Police's Facebook page and immediately drove to the area to help with the search.

They found Riley covered in scratches and dirt about 7am today.

After speaking to police yesterday, Sally Pratley and her partner Leif O'Brien travelled to Nambucca from Kempsey with two of their sons, aged 11 and 12, and searched an area of beach with torches from 10pm yesterday until 1am.
They found some dog tracks in the sand and, about midnight, heard a dog bark.

"It was a one-off bark, only myself and one other lady heard the dog bark and we tried to climb up into the bush and have a look," she told 2UE.

"It was such dense bushland, it was rather difficult to look at in the night ... We spent a bit of time calling out and looking and then thought it was a bit dangerous."

By 1am they decided to rest for a few hours in the back of their van but at daybreak they searched the bush again.

In daylight, they could see dog tracks with little footprints beside them that led into the bush. Ms Pratley and Mr O'Brien said they could only go about 50 metres into the bushland because it was so dense and dangerous but as they were walking back out, they heard another bark.

They turned around and "just ran" and almost trod over little Riley.

"He was face down in thick scrub, like unbelievable, and we just saw a little boy in just a t-shirt, nothing else, covered in scratches and bruises and dirt," she said.

"As Leif picked him up, he was cold and he was frightened and as he picked him up his little head just turned around to look at us and I just went: 'He's alive!' "

The pair screamed down the beach where Riley's great grandparents were also searching for him. They wrapped him in a blanket, gave him some water, pulled a tick out of his neck and kept saying to him: "It's OK."

Within minutes news had reached the police command post in nearby Coronation Park that Riley had been found.

His mother, Bianca, who was at the command post was on the phone to Channel Ten the moment he was found this morning.

"I feel like, I don't know, I just feel like so happy, the happiest I've ever felt, it's better than anything, it's better than anything," she said.

Footage of an emotional reunion showed Ms Martin grabbing Riley and collapsing to the ground. As she was reunited with her son she said over again: "My baby, my baby."

The boy was checked by paramedics and taken to Macksville Hospital as a precaution, police said.

The other two dogs have since been found.

Ms Pratley said she had several children of her own and felt she had to help.

"We both just thought if it was our child we'd want as many people looking as possible," she said.

- with The Nambucca Guardian