Message in the sand leads to tourist’s rescue

LONDON: A British tourist who got hopelessly lost in the Australian bush was saved after he scrawled a desperate plea for help in the sand.

Geoff Keys, 63, spent two days wandering barefoot, alone and without food after losing his way while trying to reach an isolated waterfall.

Fearing for his life, he wrote the SOS message in the sand in the hope a helicopter crew might spot it. His plea read “HELP 2807” – referring to the date – and included an arrow pointing in the direction in which he was walking.

It was spotted by a search and rescue crew, who found the Briton standing in the middle of a creek, jumping up and down “like a lunatic”.

Keys, whose rescue cost an estimated £375 000 (R7.8 million), had set off wearing only a hat, swim- ming trunks, shorts and a T-shirt on what he thought would be a short trek to the waterfall.

Instead, he ended up over 10km from his camp in Jardine River National Park, Queensland.

After failing to find the waterfall, he made “one of the stupidest decisions ever” and took what he thought was a short cut back to his camp.

Meanwhile, his friends had reported him missing and he could hear the tantalising whir of helicopter blades as rescuers hunted for him. But he’d strayed so far off course that he was outside the search area.

After two days wandering in the bush, Keys decided to carve out his plea for help on a sandbank.

Police officer Brad Foat said he had spotted the message after flying outside the search zone on a hunch. – Daily Mail