Australia: 14-yr-old with autism found alive after spending 2 nights in freezing bushland

A 14-year-old Australian boy with autism has been found alive and well after spending two nights alone in freezing bushland in Victoria. Willian Callaghan, who has non-verbal autism, disappeared from his home last week, sparking an air and land search for him. While there were big fears for his safety, Victoria Police on June 9 said that the missing boy has been located by a volunteer at Mount Disappointment. 

While taking to Facebook, the police department informed that the teenager is ‘safe and sound’ and will shortly reunite with his family. The caption of the post read, "After two days missing in bushland, Will is set to be reunited with his family shortly”. In another post, the officials wrote, “Will is now safe and sound! A very big thank you to everyone involved”. 

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Cops use ‘special tactics’

While speaking to an international media outlet, Ben Gibbs, the volunteer who saved William, said that he couldn’t believe his eyes when he spotted the teenager. Gibbs added that ‘surprisingly’, Willian not only survived the freezing temperatures but also appeared to look well. While calling Willian ‘angelic’, Gibbs also added that he had to go deeper in the woods to find the boy as the police officials had already searched the bottom of the mountain. 

The police department said that in a bid to search William, they even played music to get his attention. The department used specific tactics to get the 14-year-old respond to the calls. They reportedly even laid the food out in several areas in the hope that William would follow the trail. 

While speaking to the media outlet, Fiona Sharkey, the chief executive of autism advocacy organisation Amaze, said that it was a ‘brilliant’ way of finding the missing teenager. Fiona reportedly added that people really need to adapt themselves to the needs of autistic people rather than expecting them to behave as neurotypical people do. 

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