Missing Oz Backpacker 'Back From The Dead'

11:52am UK, Wednesday July 15, 2009

British backpacker Jamie Neale has been found alive after 12 days lost in the Australian bush - as his father gave up hope of ever seeing him again.



Reunited: Mr Cass and his son Jamie in hospital



The 19-year-old had not been seen since July 3 when he left his hostel in the town of Katoomba, New South Wales, for a walk in the Blue Mountains.

Jamie's father Richard Cass, who flew to Australia to join the search, was set to leave from Sydney after holding a "closure ceremony" and lighting a candle in a park to say goodbye.

He said his son, who came "back from the dead", had also been losing hope he would ever be rescued, as search helicopters failed to spot him waving at them.


But, yeah, I'm going to kick his arse because I appreciate the millions that have been spent on this search.

Father Richard Cass

Police said two bushwalkers found the teenager close to the Narrow Neck fire trail, near Katoomba, and he was taken to a hospital suffering from exhaustion and dehydration.

Mr Cass, after being reunited with his son, told Sky News: "He thought he was going to die."

Jamie looked "gaunt and scrawny" after surviving on seeds and reeds and sleeping under a log or huddled up in his jacket, Mr Cass said.



He Just Said 'Hello, Dad'


"He's still a bit depressed, a bit dazed about what happened to him," the father went on.

He had feared his son had "probably fallen off a cliff" but insisted the teenager was "physically tough" and his ability to handle cold temperatures "saved him".



Lucky tourist Jamie

Highlighting how Jamie left his phone at the hostel, Mr Cass said: "When I've seen the mistake after mistake he's made, you know, I can't say I'd kill him because obviously that would spoil the point of him coming back.

"But, yeah, I'm going to kick his arse because I appreciate the millions that have been spent on this search … all because he goes out without his mobile phone.

"The only teenager in the world who goes on a 10-mile trek and leaves his mobile phone."

Jamie's mother Jean Neale told Sky: "I never gave up hoping, I always knew he'd be coming home. He's determined and, if he sets his mind to something, he will do it."



Her son was tearful and exhausted when she talked to him on the phone, she said.

"I spoke to him in hospital and he said he didn't think he'd ever see me again and he just wanted to hear my voice. He was nearly in tears. I told him, 'You don't get rid of me that easily'," she said.

Jamie, from Muswell Hill, north London, had only been in Australia a month when he disappeared.

It was his first trip overseas and he had planned to travel on to Kathmandu, Laos, Vietnam and Russia before returning to Britain to start university.

Good news for a change.Quite heart warming.

Im pleased he was found safe i bet it was a nightmare for his parents.

Apparently some Australian 'experts' are saying there is no way he could've survived that ordeal for 12 days and that it is all a fake.

If it's real - he sure showed everyone that strength of spirit is worth more than anything you can buy.

if real is an happy ending!!!!!