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outback
British man lost in the Australian bush saved after writing 'Help' in the sand
The 65-year-old became stranded after trying to take a short cut back to the camp he was staying at.
A BRITISH MAN has been rescued from the Australian bush after writing an SOS message in the sand.
Geoff Keys, 63, wrote ‘HELP 2807′ in giant lettering in the sand after getting lost in Jardine National Park, Queensland, for two days.
On his blog, the adventurer describes his travels as his “Adventure before dementia. Seeing the world while I can remember where it is”.
Keys became stranded when he set off swimming along a creek on 27 July, trying to find Eliot Falls, a notable waterfall in the area.
Barefoot and wearing only shorts, a t-shirt and a hat, at around 6pm Keys made the decision to return to his campsite after being unable to find Eliot Falls.
Instead of turning around and heading back upstream, he decided to instead cut across the bush. On his blog he describes this as “one of the stupidest decisions ever”, saying “it was nearly dark. I had no shoes. What was I thinking of?”
Geoff was thrown off course when he came across different creek.
After struggling on into the next day, he drew the message onto the ground, including an arrow pointing to the direction he had gone in and the day’s date.
Despite not being in the official search zone, Keys’s message was spotted by Queensland Police.
According to the Brisbane Times, search and rescue co-ordinator Senior Constable Brad Foat made the decision to re-route the helicopter to a new search area. Upon greeting Keys, he said, “Mate, you’ve got a lot of worried people back home”.
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