A 17-year-old boy who went missing during a camping trip was found alive Thursday after six days lost in the bushes of eastern Australia. The boy, whom police identified only as William, was camping with a teenage friend when he disappeared last Friday east of Melbourne, Victoria Police said in a news release. His mother left William for the purpose of camping over the weekend when she walked a short distance to the drop-off location to retrieve more camping equipment, police said. 1:39 Investigation underway into missing Kingston teen found by Peel police When William did not return shortly after, his friend searched the area but found no sign of him, according to police. “Over the past six days, uniformed officers from Victoria Police, specialist units and other agencies have carried out an extensive search of the area,” police said. Get daily national news Get daily Canadian news delivered to your inbox so you never miss the day’s top stories. A police helicopter crew found William sleeping on a flat rock next to a stream, wearing shorts and boots and using towels as blankets. Police said he was in good spirits and generally in good health. William was later taken to a hospital to have his health monitored, police said. After getting lost, William walked for days up and down “very steep terrain,” acting police inspector Jason Benbow said. He spent the last two days where they found him in the creek, trapped by the slope of his “He woke up to the sound of the helicopter, gave them the go-ahead and they took him to safety,” Benbow told reporters. More on the world More videos William’s mother told The Associated Press that she is “delighted that he is alive.” “And he’ll never leave the house again. He’s grounded for life. He’s not going anywhere ever again,” Elizabeth joked. 4:37 Autism experts demand changes to Canada’s Amber Alert system William’s family said he has level 2 autism. That requires “substantial support,” according to Autism Speaks. Depending on the organization, a person with Level 2 autism may have deficits in verbal and nonverbal social communication skills, obvious social impairments even with supports, limited initiation of social interactions, reduced or abnormal responses to social overtures from others. The organization says a person with Level 2 autism may also experience behavioral inflexibility, difficulty coping with change, or other restricted/repetitive behaviors that appear frequently enough to be obvious to the casual observer and interfere with functioning in a variety of contexts.—With files from The Associated Press © 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.