MELBOURNE, Australia — A 17-year-old autistic boy was found alive Thursday after six days lost in the forests of eastern Australia.
The boy, who police identified only as William, had started camping with a teenage friend when he disappeared last Friday near Walhalla, a former mining town 185 kilometers east of Melbourne, police said.
A police helicopter crew found him surrounded by wilderness, asleep on a flat rock beside a stream, and he was later reunited with his mother. William was in good spirits and generally in good health, the police statement said.
Video taken from the rescue helicopter showed he was shirtless and sunburned. He wore shorts and boots and used towels as blankets.
“I’m over the moon that he’s alive,” his mother, Elizabeth, told reporters. The AP decided not to release his last name to avoid identifying his son.
“And he’s never leaving the house again. He’s grounded for life. He’s never going anywhere again,” she joked.
William was then taken to a hospital to have his condition monitored, police said.
William’s family said he had level 2 autism. This requires “substantial support”, according to Australian advocacy group Autism360.
Such a person may have marked deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication and rely heavily on predictable routines and activities. A disruption can cause significant distress.
Spring weather in the southern hemisphere had been mild last week in the Alpine region where William was lost and there had been little rain.
Elizabeth had dropped her son and his friend off last Friday for a weekend of camping. William walked a short distance from the campsite to the drop-off location to pick up more camping gear, but never returned to his friend’s house, police said.
After getting lost, William walked for days on “very steep terrain,” said Acting Police Inspector Jason Benbow.
He spent the last two days where he was found at the edge of a creek, trapped by the steep slope of its surroundings, 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from his campsite, Benbow said.
“He woke up to the sound of the helicopter, gave them a thumbs up and they pulled him to safety,” Benbow told reporters.
The extensive police search for him involved more than 100 emergency service members and volunteers.
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