A 62-year-old hiker who became lost at Nelson on the weekend was lucky to be found after taking a “short cut” through dense bushland.
Victoria Police’s Air Wing was called in assist in locating the Illowa man, who set off for a coastal hike along the Great South West Walk on Friday morning.
Police say that by the afternoon he had started to run low on supplies and decided to take a short-cut through thick scrubland in the hopes of reaching a road.
He quickly became lost and, after only managing to travel 200m within four hours due to the dense bush and boggy terrain, he decided it was time to call for help at 2.45pm.
A multi-agency search was launched however as night fell and the hiker was unable to be located, he set-up camp for the night.
In the morning the Police Air Wing helicopter joined the search and spotted the man’s bright orange tent in thick scrub about 11am on Saturday, about 500m south of Johnsons Road.
They were able to winch the man to safety (pictured). He was taken to waiting paramedics where he was given a clean bill of health.
