Australian Police Helicopter Finds Missing Teen After Six Days

Victoria, Australia – A police helicopter crew found a 17-year-old boy alive in a creek in Gippsland bushland on Thursday, November 12, six days after he went missing.

Footage released by Victoria Police shows the Air Wing camera zooming in on the teenager, named only as William, lying on rocks beside a creek. The crew first spotted a tackle box in bushland about two kilometres east of Stoney Creek during an aerial search of the Cowwarr area, police said. Flight officers were then winched down to reach him.

A second clip shows the helicopter landing at the search command post, where William's mother hugs him in the doorway of the aircraft.

William was last seen near Stoney Creek Road, between Cowwarr and Walhalla, on Friday, November 6. Police said he was in good spirits and mostly in good health, and he was taken to hospital for monitoring.