Rescue Operation: Australian Teen Located Alive After Six Days Lost in Woodlands
Police helicopter crew found the 17-year-old boy sleeping in a dry creek bed near Walhalla, where he had been trapped by steep terrain for his final two days.
By Nikolai Morales ·
A 17-year-old boy was found alive on Thursday after spending six days lost in the woodlands of eastern Australia.
Police identified the teen as William, a resident near Walhalla, a former gold-mining town located 185 kilometers east of Melbourne. He disappeared last Friday while on a camping trip with a teenage friend. The area is in the Southern Hemisphere, where spring weather had been mild and rain had been scarce during the week he was missing.
William’s family stated he has Level 2 autism, a condition that Autism360 describes as requiring substantial support. Individuals with this diagnosis often face marked deficits in verbal and non-verbal social communication and rely heavily on predictable routines. Disruptions to these routines can cause distress, which police noted as a factor in the search difficulty.
Acting Police Inspector Jason Benbow said William had walked a short distance from the campsite to the drop-off location to collect additional camping equipment. He never returned to his friend. After becoming lost, he trekked for days through what Benbow described as very steep terrain. The teen spent his final two days in a dry creek bed, trapped by the steepness of the surrounding landscape.
A police helicopter crew located him sleeping in the creek bed. Benbow reported that William woke to the sound of the helicopter, gave the crew a thumbs up, and was then winched to safety. He was reunited with his mother, Elizabeth, who told reporters she was over the moon that he was alive. She joked that he was grounded for life and would never leave the house again.
William was transported to a hospital for health monitoring. Police said he was in good spirits and mostly in good health upon rescue. The extensive search involved police, emergency services, and volunteers.
The AP withheld the family's surname to avoid identifying the son. Elizabeth had dropped off her son and his friend for a weekend of camping last Friday. William’s disappearance prompted the multi-agency search that concluded with his rescue in the alpine region.
