Teen Missing Six Days Found Alive in Victoria’s East Bush
William, 17, survived six days lost in bushland in Victoria's east on one packet of chips, singing John Denver songs through cold nights. A police helicopter crew spotted him in a creek bed at Walhalla East. He is in hospital in stable condition.
William, a 17-year-old camper, was found alive by emergency services in a creek bed at Walhalla East in Victoria's east after a teen missing six days sparked a search involving hundreds of people.
He is recovering in hospital in Traralgon and is in a stable condition. He disappeared a week ago while camping with a friend.
The search involved police divers, the dog squad and helicopters.
William told Channel Seven from his hospital bed that he doubted he would be found. "I didn't think I'd make it six days," he said.
He described cold nights, some rain, hot days and a bad sunburn. The ground was "pretty treacherous", he said, with rocks and sticks.
His only food was a packet of chicken-flavoured chips, which he rationed. To lift his spirits at night, he sang John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads. "I started doing it one night and it made me feel ace, so I just kept doing it," he said.
He said he slept well in hospital. "Comfy bed, finally got some food into me and over the moon to be happy and safe with family," he said.
How the helicopter crew found him
Senior Constable Emma Quick of the Victoria Police Air Wing was aboard the helicopter when the front-seat observer spotted something unusual. It was William, lying under some towels in the creek bed.
"I don't think any of us in the aircraft could actually believe that it was him," she said. Then he lifted his head.
Pilot Dave Wylie said the terrain made the search extremely hard. In many areas the bush is so thick that crews cannot see the forest floor. Had William not been in an open area, "we absolutely could have flown right past him without seeing him", Wylie said.
Condition and care
Latrobe Regional Hospital chief executive Don McRae said William was "in good spirits" overnight, with his mother by his side. William was due to be moved to The Alfred in Melbourne for further testing and specialist review.
His mother, Elizabeth Barkley, told Sunrise he was moved to the intensive care unit overnight after his blood pressure dropped from dehydration. She said his condition was stable but could "turn serious quite quickly if not treated and looked after properly".
Barkley said she was in the area when he was found. "Can I believe that they found him and they found him alive?" she said.
She said he had moved on from John Denver. "Today he's been singing AC/DC songs," she said.
