Australian teen found alive after six days lost in dense bushland without food or water

For six days, a vast stretch of unforgiving Australian wilderness became the setting for a desperate search and a mother's agonising wait. Separated from his camping companion and without a mobile phone, adequate food or drinking water, 17-year-old Australian boy had to find a way to survive freezing nights, difficult terrain and the uncertainty of being lost.

As hundreds of rescuers searched the dense Victorian bushland, hope remained that the teenager would be found alive. On Thursday, November 12, that hope turned into relief when a police helicopter spotted his fishing tackle box, leading rescuers to the exhausted teenager resting beside a creek.A camping trip takes an unexpected turnAccording to ABC News, the boy named William disappeared on November 6 after being dropped off near a campsite at Walhalla East, approximately 180 kilometres east of Melbourne, Victoria.

He had been camping with a teenage friend, marking his first independent camping experience. A teen left the campsite to get more camping gear from the drop-off.