Thursday morning was when a police helicopter patrolling the dense Victorian bush spotted something unusual. It was a fishing tackle box. Within moments, they tracked down William, who is 17 years old, sleeping on a rock by the side of a stream. The teenager acknowledged their rescue mission with a nod and a fist pump.
William’s mother, Elizabeth Barkley, met him at the command center near Cowwarr in no time. She hugged her son and felt relieved.
“”I’m just over the moon that he’s alive,”
Barkley said to the press.
“He’s never leaving the house again. He’s grounded for life. He’s not going anywhere ever again.”
The quote went viral on the internet as the most perfect combination of a mother’s anxiety and happiness.”
William went missing around 4 p.m., on Friday, 6th November, while camping in a location adjacent to Stoney Creek Road, situated between Cowwarr and Walhalla East. It is located about 115 miles from Melbourne. William’s mother had brought him along with a friend at the start of the week. William had gone a few yards away to pick some supplies and disappeared.
Unfamiliar with the steep, thick terrain and wearing only shorts and work boots, he took a wrong turn. About two days before rescue he slipped down a steep riverbank embankment and stayed put, waiting.
William rationed a family-sized packet of chicken-flavored chips and drank from the creek. He used towels as makeshift blankets against cold nights that dipped near freezing. To keep loneliness at bay he sang John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” over and over. In hospital he switched to AC/DC. He later admitted he honestly did not think he would last six days.
William, who has Level 2 autism, was on one of his first camping trips. Family and officials described him as fit and resilient; no one suggested his diagnosis caused the incident.
More than 100 police officers, SES crews, dog teams, divers, specialist search units, and local volunteers combed the rugged Gippsland high country. Steep slopes and dense vegetation made ground searches slow and dangerous. Victoria Police Air Wing’s aerial sweep proved decisive when the tackle box caught their eye roughly two kilometers from the campsite.
Acting Inspector Jason Benbow said William was “in good spirits and for the most part in good health.” Rescuers gave him a doughnut and water before flying him out.
William received treatment for sunburn, dehydration, exhaustion, and a few cuts and scrapes. He was initially hospitalized at Latrobe Regional Hospital under observation. Later reports revealed that there was a temporary reduction in blood pressure and a small, stable problem with William’s windpipe connected with the fall; he was being observed by specialists with a possible move to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. His condition was referred to as miraculous considering what he had endured.
William claimed that the embrace from his mother was the highlight of his life. Barkley’s comment about grounding for life was sheer relief, not a real punishment. The family and rescue team members were celebrating a very rare instance of success in the most difficult wilderness of Australia.
