A young British backpacker was “on the verge of death” after going missing during an expedition in the Australian outback, and told rescuers he had reached “the last possible hope of survival” when found.
The 18-year-old Briton, Woodhead, failed to return to base as planned on Tuesday afternoon after venturing into central Queensland, Australia. His mother, Derek, later said her former University of Brighton graduate was “just hours from death.”
Woodhead, from southwest London, was rescued on Friday when a search helicopter spotted his shorts. Speaking to BBC Radio 4 after being reunited with her son at the hospital, the mother said: “He is a very different person to the one who was found on Friday.”
The mother said: “He looks tanned and in good spirits. But due to dehydration, he has some kidney issues.” The miraculously surviving Woodhead lost 12 kilograms in the three days he was missing. She added: “Had it been two hours later, he might not have made it.”
She explained: “At the very last moment of the search, a helicopter involved in the rescue spotted a pair of shorts flying through the air, so the chopper, which was about to head back and nearly out of fuel, turned around.”
Drinking Urine
In an interview with the BBC, Woodhead revealed that he lost his way early in the expedition. He said: “Everything was fine at the start. I didn’t have a set route, but I didn’t expect to get lost and then walk such a long way.”
Woodhead said: “I knew people would come looking for me if I didn’t return on time; but I also knew that no cars or horses could get to where I was lost.” He described being in extreme panic and said: “I started drinking my contact lens solution, and eventually drank my own urine.”
The 18-year-old admitted he didn’t expect to “hang on for another half day” and had “resorted to his last option.” He said: “The search helicopter was flying low, and when it passed over my area, the shorts I had placed on my SOS sign flew up and landed just under the helicopter’s rotor. Then the chopper turned back and found me.”
Continuing the Adventure
Before boarding a flight to Brisbane, the young man’s mother said doctors believed he would “regain his previous fitness level within a month.”
Woodhead said that although the experience brought him within a hair’s breadth of death, he “will continue to travel and explore.” At the time he went missing, he had already been in Australia for eight days, where temperatures were around 37 degrees Celsius.