Man lost in bush for two nights
A 19-year-old Greymouth man who spent two nights lost in the West Coast bush says he did not think he would make it out alive.
John Osborne was found in bush near Notown, east of Greymouth, by police and a Land Search and Rescue team last Friday morning.
He had gone to a forestry block to chop firewood about 5pm last Wednesday. Osborne said daylight saving had just ended a few days earlier, so it got dark earlier than he expected and he could not find his way back to his vehicle.
‘‘It was cold and torrential rain. I should have stayed in the same area and waited it out but I got lost and couldn’t find my way back. I tucked myself into my fleece jersey and just foetalpositioned it,’’ he said.
His family raised the alarm the next day, while he tried to find his way out through the thick bush with only foraged blackberries for food.
‘‘I ended up on this hill under this tree and my legs and arms pretty much locked up. I felt paralysed. I sat there all night freezing for six or seven hours. I didn’t think I’d see my parents, my friends ever again. I persevered because I knew my life shouldn’t be that short,’’ he said.
Osborne was weak and stumbling the next day, but then heard a helicopter.
‘‘I was just real excited. I used all my will power. I had pins and needles but I raced down to the river as fast as I could and saw this guy, Sergeant Andrew Lyes, and he was like ‘are you all right mate’. I leapt at him and broke down and told him how thankful I was, told him all of the things I’ve endured,’’ he said.
Lyes drove him back to Greymouth and shouted him KFC. He was treated overnight in hospital for hypothermia and cuts to his legs. Osborne urged anyone going into the bush to be prepared, even if they did not intend to be there for long.
‘‘I’d be a lot more prepared in future, check the time, charge my phone, bring a lighter, some snacks, tell people where you are going. I am pretty lucky to be here still. It nearly cost me my life,’’ he said. ‘‘When you get in a real life-or-death situation you sort of realise how privileged you are in a way. When you’re out there you realise how much you take for granted.’’
Incident controller detective Jayne Bretherton said four West Coast police staff, 14 search and rescue volunteers and a helicopter crew searched the area on Thursday night and found Osborne about 11am last Friday.
‘‘It was quite a big operation. We had concerns for his safety due to the terrain and the weather. He wasn’t prepared in terms of clothing, food and shelter,’’ she said.