British Backpacker Found Alive in Australian Bush after 12 days

A British backpacker has been found alive 12 days after going missing in the Australian bush, having apparently survived by eating seeds and wild plants.

Jamie Neale, 19, from Muswell Hill, north London, disappeared on 3 July when he left his hostel in the town of Katoomba, New South Wales, and went for a walk in the Blue Mountains.

He was found by two walkers about nine miles from where he disappeared. His father, Richard Cass, said Neale had eaten seeds and grass to stay alive. At night he slept by huddling up in his jacket and on one night sheltered under a log. He was taken to Katoomba's Blue Mountains hospital suffering from exhaustion and dehydration.

"He did think he was going to die, he was that scared," Cass said at a press conference after visiting his son.

"He has come back from the dead."

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted local radio as saying one of the bush walkers gave Neale first aid.

Neale's mother, Jean Neale, told Sky News: "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.

"I told all the family and his friends that he was coming home and I had no doubts about that. That kept them strong and in turn that kept me strong."