A 3-year-old boy, wearing a sweater and diapers, was found alive Monday in a stream and drinking water with his hands, three days after he got lost in a forest in rural Australia.
Hundreds of people had searched for Anthony “AJ” Elfalak, who suffers from autism and is unable to communicate verbally, since he disappeared on Friday morning from his family’s property near the rural town of Putty, in north of Sydney.
The crew of a police helicopter found him sitting in a shallow stream around noon Monday, about 470 meters (1,540 feet) from his home, police Superintendent Tracy Chapman reported.
The minor was in good condition but was taken to hospital for observation, paramedics said.
His father, Anthony Elfalak, said AJ received ant pickets, was riddled with diapers and suffered abrasions.
“It’s a miracle,” the father told reporters, after he and his wife, Kelly, reunited with their son.
“He’s holding on to his mother. As soon as he heard her, he opened his eyes, saw her and fell asleep,” she recounted.
AJ was found in an area that had already been inspected. Police assume he spent all his time in the woods, Chapman said.
His ability to find drinking water was key to survival, due to the risk of dehydration, Chapman added. At night, temperatures in the area drop to 43 Fahrenheit.
AJ was on his knees on the run when a State Emergency Service official came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, said Dependency Inspector Simon Merrick.
The official “assured that he turned it around to see it with a huge smile that he will never forget,” Merrick explained.
The paramedic who examined AJ, Gerry Pyke, described him as a “little survivor.”
“The condition of little AJ is excellent,” Pyke said. “He was very, very grateful. I noticed him in his gaze.”
AJ slept in an ambulance after reuniting with his parents, and woke up hungry.
“He ate three slices of pizza and a banana, so he’s fine,” Pyke stated.