His body, found by NSW Police divers from Sydney, was retrieved about 10 kilometres from Geurie, off Terrabella Road, at 1pm yesterday.

According to police, the elderly man was not wearing a life jacket, and was caught in the current of the river at about 5:30pm Saturday night.

The Wellington man went fishing along the river with two male friends aged in their 50s, before their boat capsized and all three were thrown into the water.

One of the other men tried to assist in the elderly man’s rescue, but almost drowned himself while his companion helped him to shore.

The two men then realised their elderly friend had already drifted away along the Macquarie River.

Emergency crews attended the river and commenced a full scale search until nightfall on Saturday evening with no success.

The Dubbo Rescue Squad, the State Emergency Services (SES) and a number of police vehicles were on the shore of the river yesterday, waiting for the police divers to emerge from the water.

Police were updating the family of the elderly man on an hourly basis, and notified them when his body was recovered.

Orana LAC Inspector Chris Sammut said the man’s family had been notified of what he called a “recreational misadventure”.

“It was a tragic accident,” he said.

He said the Orana Local Area Command (LAC) were relying on the specific skills of the police divers to recover the body.

“The current in the river drifted off and as a result the man was caught, with the police locating the body in close proximity to their boat.”

At the time of speaking to the Daily Liberal, police were preparing a report for the coroner and announced the conclusion of the search.

“It was a tragic mishap, and people should be extra vigilant to water safety precautions,” Inspector Sammut said.