William survived six days lost in the Australian Outback by sleeping in a dry riverbed and eating a single pack of chips, Seven News reported.
A police helicopter discovered the 17-year-old on Thursday in the bushland of Victoria state, roughly 180 kilometers east of Melbourne. He had vanished the previous Friday afternoon after leaving his campsite to fetch a cooler box.
His companion raised the alarm when he failed to return. Search teams deployed tracking dogs, divers, drones, and aircraft to comb the rugged terrain while cold mountain weather brought dropping temperatures and snow to nearby peaks.
Police located his cooler box on Sunday but found no trace of the teen until Thursday. Officers then spotted an abandoned tackle box, which led them to William lying nearby in a creek bed, Victoria Police said.
Investigators stated he had wandered through rough, rocky country before tumbling down a steep riverbank two days prior to his rescue. He spent his final two days waiting and sleeping in the bush.
The helicopter’s rotor noise woke the teenager from his shelter in the creek bed.
“He woke beim Geräusch des Hubschraubers auf und zeigte den Daumen nach oben,” said Jason Benbow, police officer, according to ABC News.
Video footage released by law enforcement shows the rescued teen wrapped in a towel on a rock, smiling, waving, and clenching his fist. He suffered from severe exhaustion, leg cuts, and heavy sunburns across his face and upper body, and crews transported him to a hospital for treatment.
William drank water from the local stream and subsisted on chips during his final two days stranded in the wilderness. His mother reacted to the ordeal with humor once her son was safe.
“Er wird das Haus nie wieder verlassen. Er hat lebenslang Hausarrest,” she joked, according to ABC News.
She added that he would avoid camping trips unless staying in a secure cabin equipped with child leashes to prevent him from wandering off.
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