A 3-year-old Australian boy was found alive and in good condition after disappearing for three days in the desert, near his family’s country house, north of Sydney.
AJ Elfalak, who is autistic and non-verbal, has been “clinging” to her mother since she was found on Monday kneeling in a river drinking water after disappearing on Friday, Father Anthony Elfalak told The Guardian.
“It’s a miracle. The ants have bitten him and he has fallen, but he is alive. It’s amazing, “said the father. “My leg, my hips, my ankles … I can’t walk. I have been in the jungle for four days without sleep. We didn’t stop. “
He added: “I know he was acting frantically, but no one can understand what it is like to go through what we went through. I feel amazing. “
A crowd of volunteers desperately hunted the boy all over the wooded area. AJ was finally seen by searchers in a helicopter that saw the boy completely soaked in the river.
Elfalak said his son “had never left.” The family moved into the property a few months ago.
Now AJ is “nice and warm. He is perfect, he is happy, he is healthy, he sleeps. I can’t be happier right now, ”said her mother, Kelly Elfalak.
A local police officer told reporters that AJ’s access to water no doubt helped him survive.
“The longer something happens, the more worried you won’t get a result like this … it’s good news for the whole community,” said Tracy Chapman, New South Wales Police Superintendent.
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