Australian teen survives nine weeks in wild
AUSTRALIA: An Australian teenager who went missing from his
home in Sydney more than two months ago was discovered emaciated,
exhausted and covered in leeches, but alive in bushland north of the
city, police said Monday.
Matthew Allen's family feared the worst after the 18-year-old
disappeared in late November from Westleigh, near Cherrybrook in
northwest Sydney and his mobile phone and bank accounts went untouched.
Extensive searches of the area by police failed to find a trace of
Allen, who suffers from an undisclosed medical condition. But two hikers
spotted the teen lying in bushland less than two kilometres (just over a
mile) from his home on Saturday, covered in leeches and insect bites and
having lost almost half his body weight.
He was partially blind, exhausted and suffering gangrene to his lower
legs and feet after an ordeal police said they were amazed he had
survived.
"He was completely exhausted, completely dehydrated, suffered
significant weight loss, somewhere up to 50 percent. He was suffering
from partial blindness and he had leeches all over him," said acting
police inspector Glyn Baker.
"He was not living under any shelter and was exposed to the full
conditions since reported being missing," he added.
Allen was believed to have deliberately hidden himself from view in
the area which is heavily frequented by hikers.
He told rescuers he had survived by drinking from a local creek,
which was almost dry when he was found. Allen endured soaring
temperatures in recent weeks including a record-breaking 46 degree
Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) day in Sydney. Allen was airlifted to safety
and was undergoing treatment in hospital for his injuries, which were
described as not life-threatening. Police have yet to speak to him about
his ordeal.
"His family are ecstatic that he's alive and that he's well," said
Baker.
AFP
|