Missing hitchhiker had fallen asleep in car

A man who had been missing for four days had fallen asleep in a car and ended up in Whakatane without his cellphone, police said.

The Morrinsville farm worker was found after his family tracked him down through Facebook.

Joshua Falwasser, 22, was reported missing after he texted his brother on Friday night that he was hitchhiking home from Tauranga.

He was due back at work in Morrinsville to milk cows on Saturday morning but never showed up. He had gone to Tauranga with a relative on Wednesday to attend a party on Thursday.

"Family members had travelled to Tauranga to search for him and through dogged determination, working through Facebook contacts and tracking people down they were able to identify the unknown friend where the party had been and located the missing man at this person's address," Sergeant Mark Toomey of Morrinsville police said.

The man had been hitchhiking home when he got a ride and then his plans fell apart.

"From what we understand he fell asleep in a car and ended up in Whakatane but lost his cell phone."