A diabetic camper who had been missing for nine days in the remote bushland of Victoria has shared his harrowing experience, expressing fears that he might not make it through the ordeal.
Troy Milne, 61, was finally rescued late yesterday afternoon near Buchan, a town located in the East Gippsland region. His plight came to an end when he ingeniously lit a fire to signal his location to searchers.
Milne, who was found near the Kirby Cross Track, managed to catch the attention of firefighters with the smoke from the small blaze. The search team was able to locate him by spotting his Jeep Wrangler SUV parked nearby.
After his rescue, Milne was flown to Essendon Airport on the outskirts of Melbourne and is now headed for hospital treatment. In an exclusive conversation with 9News, he recounted his survival strategy, saying, “I thought I was a dead duck in water … I just drank lots of water.”
Milne lit the fire near the Kirby Cross Track and succeeded in drawing firefighters to the area.
They finally found him after spotting his Jeep Wrangler SUV close to the small blaze.
The vehicle had bottomed out on the terrain and was not drivable, prompting Milne to light a fire in the hope emergency services would respond.
He was taken to a local hospital for treatment and observation.
Milne went missing after leaving his campsite at Woodside Beach for a quick trip collect supplies last Tuesday.
It triggered an extensive nine-day search to try and find the insulin-dependent diabetic amid fears he had suffered a medical episode.
Police said finding Milne alive was a remarkable result.
“We really feared the worst so to be able to contact Troy’s family and give them the fantastic news was a wonderful result,” Inspector Wayne Rothwell said.
“Troy was without his medication for a long period which left him disorientated and confused so we believe he turned off the highway at some point and became lost in the bush.
“It was a challenging search due to the huge area that Troy had been spotted travelling around so it was extremely difficult to narrow down where to concentrate our efforts.
“Once Troy lit the fire, it drew the attention of our fire crews who quickly responded and located him.”
