Luke Shambrook: Police praise 'amazing, resilient' 11-year-old boy found alive after four days missing near Lake Eildon, Victoria

Updated

Eleven-year-old Luke Shambrook has been reunited with his family after being found wandering in bushland near where he went missing on Good Friday.

Luke, who has autism, disappeared from his family's campsite at the Candlebark camping ground, near Lake Eildon in north-east Victoria.

A police helicopter spotted Luke walking through bushland around three kilometres away just before midday on Tuesday.

Acting Sergeant Brad Pascoe was the person who spotted Luke from the helicopter.

"I just, out the corner of my eye, caught a little flash of something," he said.

"It wasn't much but it was enough to make me get the guys to turn the aircraft around.

"We were able to train the camera in and confirm it was Luke. We were just absolutely over the moon."

The boy was carried out of the bush on a stretcher and reunited with his family before being taken to a local hospital for an initial health check.

He is now being treated for dehydration and hypothermia in Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital.

"Luke is fantastic for what he's been through, suffering exhaustion of course, dehydrated and some hypothermia, but from where he's been — four nights and four days in the bush — he's really in remarkable condition," Acting Commander Rick Nugent from Victoria Police said.

Acting Commander Nugent said everyone was "overwhelmed" with the news.

"The joy on people's faces; the searchers, the volunteers, the emergency services people, you could just see it," he said.

"It's been a hell of an ordeal for Luke. But to be able to give his parents the news that he is alive and he is well and he's been found three kilometres from where he went missing, it's amazing."

Luke was smothered in hugs by relieved family members as he was stretchered from the bushland.

"[Luke's parents] asked if I could pass on their appreciation to all searchers, to volunteers, to police, to emergency services, Parks Victoria, SES and everyone else that assisted in the search," Acting Commander Nugent said.

"They described their feeling as absolute relief that he's been located well after being lost in the bush for approximately four days.

"In some ways it's a miracle. You will have all seen the terrain here, how thick it is, how cold it's been of a night.

"We've had rain most of this morning. To spot him now is an absolute relief and the joy by all of us that he's been found is just hard to describe."

Luke's uncle Peter Roberts spoke briefly after his nephew was found, saying the family was "rejoicing".

"We're very thankful to live in a society that puts a lot of effort into finding children who go missing," he said.

"We're very happy that Luke's been found alive and well even after such a long time."

Acting Commander Nugent said Luke's resilience was "absolutely amazing".

"An 11-year-old boy, challenged as he is with his autism, he's a courageous, resilient, strong young man," he said.

"Everyone is overwhelmed by the news ... the longer it went the more challenging it was going to be for us.

"To find him safe and well ... is just wonderful news."

Some police officers at the scene appeared to be nearly in tears as they were relaying the information to media.

Map: Luke Shambrook was found safe and well on Skyline Road

Searchers found Luke's beanie just west of the campsite on Monday afternoon and police, SES crews and volunteers yesterday searched an area off Skyline Road near Devils Cove.

Luke was then found a short distance from there.

The dog squad, police motorcycles, mounted branch horses and four-wheel drive vehicles were also involved.

Rescue teams battled tough terrain and poor weather conditions during the search.

Helicopters had flown over the area where Luke was found but thick cloud cover meant they could not see him.

Police motorbikes also came within about 300 metres of him.

"There are areas of this scrub where you can't see more than 10 metres and less, so if he's sitting down, lying down, it still would have been a challenge," Acting Commander Nugent said.

He said he would hate to think how much longer Luke would have survived in the cold conditions.

Lake Eildon is a popular camping and tourist spot, and dozens of holiday makers volunteered to take part in the search over the Easter long weekend.

Searchers had earlier been told Luke liked to hide, so had been looking in underground burrows such as wombat holes and mine shafts.

He also has a fascination with water, leading police divers to comb the lake for any sign of him.

Topics: missing-person, autism-spectrum-disorder, police, eildon-3713

First posted