Steven Van Lonkhuyzen - A father and his two sons who got lost for 10 days in the forest-filled Australian national park in Queensland have been rescued.
According to local reports, 37-year-old Steven Van Lonkhuyzen and his sons Ethan, 7, and Timothy, 5, got lost after taking the wrong turn in the Expedition National Park on Dec. 11th. Their car later got stuck in the mud.
The father and his sons were reportedly on a trip from Brisbane to Cairns, where they had planned to meet some relatives on Dec. 15th after camping for several days.
But they were forced to face the unexpected when the white Mitsubishi Pagero they were riding got stuck. They had no mobile reception to call for help. Steven Van Lonkhuyzen and his sons had to ration the food and snacks they packed for their 4-day trip.
When the food ran out, the trio lived by rationing the little water they had. They collected more water when it rained with their plastic containers.
"We were on water for at least seven days," Steven Van Lonkhuyzen said in a statement, after being found by a cattle herder Mr Tom Wagner, who met them some 186 miles from Queensland Southeast, where they were last seen. "At some point [the food] was going to run out. We just managed our water and when it rained we caught a heap."
Lonkhuyzen's wife called the cops after tying unsuccessfully to reach them by phone when they didn't turn up as planned.
Queensland police conducted an extensive ground search for Steven Van Lonkhuyzen and his sons. They used helicopters and local scouts to scour through an area covering about a hundred thousand square miles of land.
Steven Van Lonkhuyzen car was stuck in the forest woodland and he reportedly never strayed from it. Lonkhuyzen tried to issue SOS signals with his car's horn as a way to sound an alarm hoping someone would hear it.
"We were very concerned about their welfare. It was very hot and humid," said Acting Superintendent Mick Bianchi, who led the search for the trio.
Bianchi praised Lonkhuyzen for his survivalist acumen in keeping himself and his sons safe.
"Steven told me they had water with then in the car but they were lucky there was lots of rain while they were stuck out there.
"He put a plastic container out and he thinks he caught about 40 liters of water," Bianchi said.
Reports indicate that when Steven Van Lonkhuyzen and his sons were found they were in "good spirits." They said they had just a few slices of bread left.
"We gave them a few biscuits and a sandwich and they got into that," Wagner said.
Wagner said he heard the police announcement about the missing trio and the description of their car. He then remembered seeing the car while herding and got on his bike to retrace his steps before he came upon them at 3.30 p.m. on Sunday.
"The boys have lost some weight and are a bit emaciated but they'll be nursed back to health within a few days or two," Bianchi said.
The boys were taken for medical examination at the Taroom Hospital as a precaution. But their father Steven Van Lonkhuyzen stayed back and worked with national park rangers to free his car.
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