Australian Teen Found Alive After Six Days Lost in the Bush: Survived on a Packet of Chips and Creek Water
Victoria Police said on November 12 that 17-year-old William had been found safe and well after six days missing in bushland east of Walhalla, in Victoria's Gippsland region, Australia. He was in good spirits and, for the most part, in good health, and was taken to hospital for monitoring.
Police said William was last seen at about 4 p.m. on Friday, November 6, on Stoney Creek Road, between Cowwarr and Walhalla, near the T2 Track. His mother had dropped him off to camp for the weekend with a friend; he walked a short distance to retrieve further camping equipment and did not return, and his friend's search of the area found no trace of him. Over the following six days, Victoria Police uniform and specialist units, the State Emergency Service, ambulance crews and volunteers conducted an extensive search.
On the morning of November 12, a Police Air Wing crew conducting an aerial search of the Cowwarr area spotted a fishing tackle box in bushland about 2 kilometres east of Stoney Creek, and on zooming in found William lying in a creek nearby. Flight officers were winched down, retrieved him and brought him back to the command post to be reunited with his mother. According to Australian media reports, William had taken a wrong turn while fetching equipment, slipped down a steep embankment into a gully and could not climb out; wearing only shorts and work boots, he rationed a family-size packet of chicken-flavoured chips over the first two days and then survived on creek water, with towels and a pillow for warmth, while more than 100 people took part in the search. Police thanked the community, volunteers and assisting agencies.
(Source: Victoria Police)
Source: Victoria Police
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：澳大利亚维多利亚州 Walhalla 一带的丛林溪流（资料图，非救援现场，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）。 / Photo: A bush creek near Walhalla, Victoria, Australia (file photo, not the rescue site; CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
