A desperate search for an elderly South Australian couple in Tasmania’s northwest has ended in relief, with police locating the pair near their vehicle on Thursday morning.

Search crews found the couple’s silver Honda CR‑V abandoned on the side of Cookes Rd in the Dial Range area near Riana shortly before 10.30am.

Clementina, 81, and Peter, 79, were discovered a short distance away — cold, wet and suffering minor injuries.

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Ambulance Tasmania paramedics are assessing them at the scene.

The married couple had vanished during an afternoon of sightseeing on Tuesday, sparking a major search across the state’s northwest. They were last seen about 2.30pm in Milabena, west of Burnie, after visiting family and heading off for a short drive without telling relatives where they planned to go.

Family raised the alarm when they failed to return and could not be contacted.

Police believed the pair may have travelled through the Penguin, Gawler or Gunns Plains area, with worsening weather hampering the search and grounding the police helicopter.

Authorities thanked emergency services and members of the public who assisted in the effort to find the missing couple.

More to come ...