A teenage boy survived six days lost in the Victorian bush by rationing chicken-flavoured crisps – and after he was found, he was rewarded with his favourite McDonald's meal.
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he → survive → meal
William, 17, went missing on October 6 after walking to another part of the campsite near Stoney Creek Road and T2 Track in the afternoon.
He was found alive by a police helicopter on Thursday morning after an extensive search across rugged bushland near Walhalla East, about 180km east of Melbourne.
In his first interview since being found, he revealed he survived on a family-sized packet of crisps, carefully rationing them over the first two days while waiting to be rescued.
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he → go → days
'I had a good old packet of Smith's Chicken Chips.
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I → have → Chips
About two days to get me going for a bit,' he told Channel Seven's Sunrise from hospital on Friday.
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he → get → Friday
'Yeah, I just ate some here and there, sat down, drank some water from the creek, ate some more.
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I → eat → more
William revealed he had fallen down a steep embankment into a riverbed, where he waited, fearing he would not survive and that rescuers would struggle to find him during the night.
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rescuers → reveal → night
'Honestly, I didn't think I'd make it six days.
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I → think → days
There were a few times where I'm thinking, "Gee, it's getting dark, and you don't know if you'll be able to see me".
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you → be → me
Yeah, I did get pretty scared,' he said.
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he → get → ?
William (pictured) went missing on Friday, 6 October, after walking to another area of a Walhalla East campsite near Stoney Creek Road and T2 Track
He survived for six days in the bush, rationing a packet of chicken-flavoured crisps and drinking water from a creek
William was found alive by a police helicopter on Thursday morning after an extensive six-day search across bushland near Walhalla East
Following his rescue, William's mother Elizabeth Barkley made a special trip to buy him a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with bacon, a cheeseburger and six Chicken McNuggets.
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mother → picture → bacon
But the teenager was disappointed when he was unable to tuck into his fast-food feast straight away, as doctors continued to monitor his condition in hospital.
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doctors → disappoint → hospital
'He's in good spirits, a bit grumpy because he can't have his morning coffee,' Ms Barkley said.
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Barkley → have → coffee
The teenager, who his mother said has level two autism and requires 'substantial' support, was wearing only a pair of shorts and work boots at the time.
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mother → say → time
He had also left his phone at the campsite.
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He → leave → campsite
Police had held grave fears for the Latrobe Valley teen, who they said may have become disoriented and lost his way in the treacherous terrain.
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they → hold → terrain
The Bureau of Meteorology also reported temperatures as low as 3C during the six days he was missing.
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he → report → days
William told Sunrise the freezing nights, rain and hot days had made the ordeal incredibly difficult.
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ordeal → tell → Sunrise
I think a couple of times it was raining.
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it → think → times
Hot days, a little bit of sunburn,' he said.
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he → say → sunburn
Footage released on Friday night showed a severely sunburnt and shirtless William lying on a flat rock near a creek as he was found.
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he → release → creek
William's mother made a special trip to buy him his favourite McDonald's meal after he was rescued
The Bureau of Meteorology also reported temperatures as low as 3C in the Walhalla East area during the six days he was missing
William said the freezing nights, rain and hot days had made the ordeal incredibly difficult
Still wearing his boots, William was covering himself with a blanket as he lay on his side when the helicopter hovered over him.
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helicopter → make → him
At first, he did not react, clearly exhausted, and appeared not to realise what he was seeing.
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he → react → what
He then waved at the helicopter and fist-pumped the air in joy as he realised he had been saved.
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he → wave → joy
To keep himself company during the lonely nights in the bush, William said he would sing along to one of his favourite songs: Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver.
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he → keep → Denver
It brings me great comfort.
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It → bring → comfort
I started doing it one night, made me feel okay, so I just kept doing it,' he said.
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he → start → it
The teenager's ordeal finally came to an end when Victoria Police Air Wing officers spotted a tackle box in bushland about 2km east of Stoney Creek.
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officers → come → Creek
Flight officers were winched down to retrieve him before he was flown back to the command post at Cowwarr, where he was reunited with his mother.
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he → winch → mother
William said his first words to the rescuers were to thank them for finding him.
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words → say → him
'I was saying, "Thank God you guys found me".
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guys → say → me
I thought it would never happen,' he said.
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he → think → ?
Flight officers winched William to safety and flew him back to the command post at Cowwarr, where he was reunited with his mother
His mother has made it clear she has no intention of letting him disappear on another camping trip any time soon, joking that he was 'grounded for life'
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he → winch → life
The emotional reunion with his mother was captured on camera and she has described the moment she spotted him in the helicopter as a miracle.
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she → capture → miracle
'Just over the moon and as soon as he started waving to me in the helicopter and I saw the shape of him, I just lost it because it's like, you know, my prayers were answered,' she said.
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she → wave → it
William described seeing his mother again as the best moment of his life.
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William → describe → life
I was super emotional, and yeah, it was a very strong point in my life,' he said.
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he → say → life
'Glad to see that she's happy again.'
She also revealed her son had been transferred to intensive care after his blood pressure dropped due to dehydration in the hours after his rescue.
Doctors also monitored a condition affecting his windpipe, which she said was stable but required close observation in case it deteriorated.
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it → see → observation
While William may be keen to put the ordeal behind him, his mother has made it clear she has no intention of letting him disappear on another camping trip any time soon, joking that he was 'grounded for life'.
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he → put → life
He remains in hospital and is expected to be transferred to Melbourne for further assessment by specialists.
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He → remain → specialists
The Aporia
