Three-year-old Anthony 'AJ' Elfalak has been found in a deep gully in rugged bushland four days after he vanished on his family's rural New South Wales property.
Key points:
- Three-year-old Anthony 'AJ' Elfalak has been found in a "massive gully" on his family's property
- His family describe his rescue as a "miracle"
- Hundreds of people including family, police, SES and RFS personnel searched rugged bushland for four days for him
AJ's father Anthony said his son was in reasonable shape considering his ordeal.
"He's got some nappy rash, he's been bitten by ants, he's fallen over — but he's alive," he said.
He said the boy was drinking water from a creek when he was spotted by a helicopter, in an area that had previously been searched.
"We have searched that area head to toe," he said.
ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham
)'He's a champion': Family celebrates
Aerial pictures captured the moment that the boy, wrapped in a foil blanket, was carried by paramedics through the bush and into a waiting ambulance.
Outside the family home at Putty, near Singleton, NSW, the boy's extended family whooped, hollered, sang and danced as they celebrated the news that he had been found alive.
His grandmother sunk to her knees, and threw her hands into the air praising police and the volunteers who had helped in the search.
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)"The police called me, they found AJ — he's alive and very good," she said.
Another relative sobbed as he embraced AJ's older brothers, crying "we found him boys, we found him!"
Relatives crowded around an iPhone to watch a video of the boy, who has autism and is non-verbal, being cradled by his mother inside an ambulance.
"He's with his mum, he's with his mum," they cried.
One of the boy's uncles, Louis Elfalak, said it was a "miracle" that the toddler had been found alive.
"It's unbelievable."
He said the three-year-old had been found in a "massive gully" on the property and would be taken to hospital.
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)"I can't wait to see him. I can't wait to hug him ... he's a champion," he said.
The boy's godfather, Alan Hashem, described the family's anguish during the search.
"This has been a living nightmare for us, we haven't eaten, we haven't slept," Mr Hashem said.
NSW Police said AJ was found about 11:30am on Monday near a riverbank by the police airwing (PolAir), and officers directed ground crews to his location.
Massive search
During the past four days, PolAir, dog squad, divers, the mounted unit and hundreds of State Emergency Service (SES), Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA) personnel searched rugged terrain for the child.
ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham
)On Sunday, police seized a white ute, which the family said was seen in the area at the time AJ went missing on Friday from the family's 263-hectare property off Yengo Drive.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was delighted to hear AJ had been found.
"I think all of us have been crossing everything to make sure AJ is brought back safely ... it's a much-needed good news in otherwise difficult circumstances," she said.
AJ's distraught uncle Steven Kassis on Sunday said family members feared the child had been abducted.
ABC Upper Hunter: Jake Lapham
)https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiTWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA5LTA2L21pc3NpbmctYm95LWFqLWVsZmFsYWstZm91bmQvMTAwNDM2MzM40gEoaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEwMDQzNjMzOA?oc=5
2021-09-06 02:00:38Z
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