Teenager William recovers in hospital after six days lost in bushland in Victoria’s east

A teenager who survived six days lost in bushland in Victoria’s east has recounted how he sang John Denver songs to keep his spirits up while he desperately hoped to be found.

William, 17, is recovering from his ordeal in hospital after he was found by emergency services yesterday in a creek bed at Walhalla East.

He disappeared a week ago while camping with a friend, sparking an intense search involving hundreds of peopleincluding police divers, the dog squad and helicopters.

William told Channel Seven from his hospital bed in Traralgon that there were times during his ordeal that he did not think he would be found.

“The nights were pretty cold. A couple of times it was raining. Hot days. I got sunburnt and pretty treacherous surroundings, rocks and sticks, yeah,” he said.

William said he sang John Denver’s song Take Me Home, Country Roads to keep his spirits up during the cold nights in the bush.

“I started doing it one night and it made me feel ace, so I just kept doing it.”

His only food for six days was a packet of chicken-flavoured chips, which he rationed, and he said he was happy to finally have a proper meal.

“I had a great sleep last night. Comfy bed, finally got some food into me and over the moon to be happy and safe with family,” he said.

Latrobe Regional Hospital chief executive Don McRae said William was “in good spirits” overnight, with his mother by his side.

“William has been cared for by our team overnight and is in a stable condition,” he said.

“He’ll be transferred to The Alfred in Melbourne this morning for further testing and specialist review.

“Our team will continue to ensure he receives the care he needs as he moves to the next stage of his treatment.”

William’s mother Elizabeth Barkley told Sunrise she had an out-of-body experience when reunited with her son.

“Can I believe that they found him and they found him alive?” she said.

“It was just wonderful that I happened to be up there when they found him.

She said he was “a bit grumpy” because he was required to fast and could not have his morning coffee or McDonald’s for breakfast.

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His condition was stable, “but it’s one of those things that could turn serious quite quickly if not treated and looked after properly”, Ms Barkley said.

William had been transferred to the intensive care unit overnight after his blood pressure dropped due to dehydration.

Ms Barkley said he had moved on from the John Denver songs he had sung to keep his spirits up.

“Today he’s been singing AC/DC songs,” she said.

The Victoria Police Air Wing crew that found William said it was extremely fortunate he was spotted in the dense bushland.

Senior Constable Emma Quick was on board the police helicopter when the front-seat observer saw the teenager.

“He was able to see something unusual, which is what we’re always looking for, just something that takes your eye,” she said.

“Sure enough, it was Will just lying there under some towels in the creek bed, which was just incredible to see.

Pilot Dave Wylie said the search had been incredibly challenging for crews.

“A lot of the areas are so thick that you can’t actually see the forest floor, so even if someone was there, potentially you could fly right past them,” he said.

“If he wasn’t in the open area like he was, we absolutely could have flown right past him without seeing him.”