A missing teen found alive after 6 days in Australian woodlands

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A 17-year-old boy with autism was found alive Thursday after six days lost in eastern Australian woodlands.

The boy, whom police identified only as William, had begun camping with a teenage friend when he disappeared last Friday near Walhalla, a former gold-mining town 185 kilometers (115 miles) east of Melbourne, police said.

A police helicopter crew found him surrounded by wilderness lying in a dry creek bed, and he was later reunited with his mother. William was in good spirits and mostly in good health, the police statement said.

“I’m just over the moon that he’s alive,” his mother, Elizabeth, told reporters. The AP has decided not to provide her family name to avoid identifying her son.

“And he’s never leaving the house again. He’s grounded for life. He’s not going anywhere ever again,” she joked.

William was later taken to a hospital for his health to be monitored, police said.

The Southern Hemisphere spring weather had been mild for the past week in the region where William was lost and there had been little rain.

Elizabeth had dropped off her son and his friend last Friday for a weekend of camping. William walked a short distance from the campsite to the drop-off location to collect more camping equipment but never returned to his friend, police said.

The extensive police search for him involved emergency services and volunteers.