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British backpacker Jamie Neale, 19, from North London, was found by two bushwalkers after he went missing in the Blue Mountains for 12 days - Source: Reuters
A British backpacker was found alive on Wednesday after being
lost for 12 days in rugged bushland west of Sydney.
Jamie Neale lost his way after going for a 10 km walk in the rugged
Blue Mountains and leaving many of his possessions, including
mobile phone, at a youth hostel.
He was found by two bushwalkers and survival experts said the
19-year-old only made it because of the availability of water due
to recent rain.
Neale's father, who flew to Sydney to help search for his son, said
he had given up hope of finding him alive and had held a makeshift
closure ceremony for him.
"I carved his name and lit a candle, buried a red rose for England
and he's come back from the dead," Richard Cass told reporters
after visiting his son in hospital, where he was recovering from
exposure and dehydration.
"He's all scratched. He's very gaunt, but it is fantastic," said
Cass.
"He was eating seeds. He ate some sort of weed which was like
rocket, as he described, a kind of lettuce.
"He was talking to me about whether there was a God and he was kind
of losing faith in the idea that there was a God every time that
helicopter flew over, and he waved and shouted and nothing
happened," he said.
