BREAKING: Luke Shambrook has had an emotional reunion with his parents after spending four nights lost in bush near Eildon.
Luke, 11, who has autism, was found alive about midday on Tuesday after wandering off from his family’s campsite at Candlebark campground on Good Friday.
“We can confirm that missing boy Luke Shambrook has been located alive,” a police spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
Police told reporters at the scene that Luke did not appear to be injured, although he was suffering hypothermia.
The boy was foundon the south side of the peak of Auciferous Spur, 2.25 kilometres from Devil Cove, the bay of the lake near Candlebark campground.
He was spotted sitting on the side of the hill by a police helicopter, not far from where his black beanie had been found in the area on Monday afternoon.
Luke was carried out of the bush on a stretcher and wrapped in silver foil with a blue policeman’s beanie on his head to be reunited with his smiling parents. His parents kissed him as he held the hand of a police officer, before his mother Rachel rested his head back on the stretcher.
Luke’s parents then got into an ambulance with their son, who will be taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital for treatment.
A police officer at the scene said: “Luke’s a courageous, resilient, strong, young man.”
The news of Luke’s discovery immediately swept social media with “Luke Shambrook” topping Twitter’s national trending topics within minutes.
Police have created a road block on the highest part of the mountain on Skyline Road West.
Earlier, police described the hunt for Luke as a “life and death struggle” as the search entered its fifth day on Tuesday.
State Emergency Services personnel, the Victoria Police canine unit and mounted police were among those to lead the search in the cold conditions at first light.
Volunteers also began arriving early to search the Lake Eildon holiday spot, as they have done over the previous four days and nights.
Sergeant Greg Paul addressed 60 volunteers shortly before 10am, instructing them to re-search nearby areas in case Luke was “on the move”.
He asked them to pay close attention to culverts and tree hollows, and to call out every few minutes, then stop and listen for a response.
“We’re racing against the clock. We’re racing against the weather,” Sergeant Paul said. “It’s a life and death struggle. We want to get him found today.”
The Monday afternoon discovery of a black beanie confirmed to be Luke’s buoyed the spirits of those searching.
Scott Patrick woke at 6am on Tuesday, took the day off work and drove to the search area from Broadford with his six-year-old son Nayte.
His said his family had camped in the area for decades, and he had a four-wheel-drive with GPS and satellite phone.
Mr Patrick said he had friends with autistic children, but would want the same help if his son or daughter was missing.
“This could be anyone’s child,” he said. “I don’t know if we can do much, but we’ve gotta try.”
Victoria Police confirmed that Luke had a “high pain threshold”, and was described by his family as “resilient”. They also said that he enjoyed hiding, so searchers were looking in any and all obscured spots.
Police said that Luke’s occupational therapist had been consulted, who suspected that he would not have wandered far from the campground.
The boy spent his fourth night in the wilderness on Monday, when the temperature dropped to 8.8 degrees.
This story first appeared in The Age
