An Australian teenager who went missing from his home in Sydney more than two months ago was discovered emaciated, exhausted and covered in leeches, but alive in bushland north of the city, police said Monday.

Matthew Allen‘s family feared the worst after the 18-year-old disappeared in late November from Westleigh, near Cherrybrook in northwest Sydney and his mobile phone and bank accounts went untouched.

Extensive searches of the area by police failed to find a trace of Allen, who suffers from an undisclosed medical condition.

But two hikers spotted the teen lying in bushland less than two kilometres(just over a mile) from his home on Saturday, covered in leeches and insect bites and having lost almost half his body weight.

He was partially blind, exhausted and suffering gangrene to his lower legs and feet after an ordeal police said they were amazed he had survived.

“He was completely exhausted, completely dehydrated, suffered significant weight loss, somewhere up to 50 percent. He was suffering from partial blindness and he had leeches all over him,” said acting police inspector Glyn Baker.

“He was not living under any shelter and was exposed to the full conditions since reported being missing,” he added.

Allen was believed to have deliberately hidden himself from view in the area which is heavily frequented by hikers.

He told rescuers he had survived by drinking from a local creek, which was almost dry when he was found. Allen endured soaring temperatures in recent weeks including a record-breaking 46 degree Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) day in Sydney.

Allen was airlifted to safety and was undergoing treatment in hospital for his injuries, which were described as not life-threatening.

Police have yet to speak to him about his ordeal.

“His family are ecstatic that he’s alive and that he‘s well,” said Baker. (AFP)



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실종 9주만에 발견된 10대, 무슨 일이?


오스트레일리아 시드니(Sydney)에서 두 어 달 전 실종된 10대가 살아 돌아왔다. 몸이 극히 쇠약해져있었고 곤충에 많이 뜯긴 상태였다고 월요일 경찰이 전했다.

매튜 앨런(Matthew Allen, 18)은 지난 11월 말 시드니 북서쪽 웨스트레이(Westleigh)에서 실종되었다. 핸드폰이나 은행계좌도 건드리지 않은 상태였다.

이후 경찰은 앨런의 행방을 찾기 위해 대대적인 수사를 벌였으나 실패해왔다.

앨런이 발견된 것은 등산객 두 명이 한 10대가 수풀 속에 누워있는 것을 발견했을 때였다. 앨런은 집에서 불과 2km 지점에 있었으며 온 몸에 거머리 등의 곤충에 물린 상태였으며, 몸무게가 반이 줄어든 것으로 밝혀졌다.

그는 거의 눈이 멀어 있었고, 지쳐 있었으며 완전히 탈수 상태였다. 발 부근에 괴저도 있었다. 경찰은 그가 살아 있었다는 것이 놀라울 정도였다고 전했다.

"몸을 피할 수 있는 곳이 아니라 완전히 야생 상태에 있었습니다."라고 경찰 관계자인 글린 베이커(Glyn Baker)가 말했다.

앨런은 일부러 등산객이 다닐 법한 곳에 있었던 것으로 보인다. 그는 시냇물에서 물을 마셨다고 전했다. 시냇물은 앨런 발견 당시 거의 말라 있었다. 앨런은 최근 46도까지 오르는 기온도 견뎌오고 있었다.

앨런은 병원에서 치료를 받는 중이며, 생명에 지장은 없는 것으로 전해졌다.

앨런의 가족은 앨런이 무사히 돌아왔다는 데 대해 기쁨을 감추지 못하고 있다. (코리아헤럴드)