Jamie Neale recovering in hospital
As British backpacker and Blue Mountains survivor Jamie Neale recovers in hospital a worldwide media scrum competes for his story.
Others have been questioning whether the tale is a hoax.
As the story of Jamie’s incredible survival makes front-page news around world, several UK papers and TV stations have descended like vultures on little Katoomba.
Meanwhile Jamie’s father Richard Cass said he was “not interested in the celebrity culture”.
Despite his comments, celebrity and advertising experts predict the teenager could earn AUD$1million from his story.
Mr Cass said his son believed he was going to die after spending 11 days lost in the Blue Mountains.
Winter conditions had left Jamie Neale gaunt, scratched and still in a daze. and his dad has expressed concern about his son’s mental state after the ordeal, saying Jamie feels “depressed”.
“He is still shell shocked. I haven’t seen him smile. He genuinely is in a pretty fragile state,” he said.
His dad, who had given up and was awaiting his flight back to Britain, said he would “kick his arse” for all the trouble he had caused
“When I’ve seen the mistake after mistake he’s made – I can’t say I’d kill him because it would just spoil the point of him being back,” Mr Cass said outside the Blue Mountains Hospital in Katoomba,
“I’m going to kick his arse – the millions that have been spent on this search . . . all because he goes out on a walk without his mobile phone. The only teenager in the world who goes on a 10-mile hike and leaves his mobile phone behind.”
The Brit survived by eating seeds and plants and his high tolerance to the cold also helped. Jamie also gorged himself on pizza in Katoomba YHA the night before the walk, which could well have contributed to his survival.
The story has sparked rumours the ordeal was a hoax to make money from the media – a claim discounted by his father.
National Parks and Wildlife Service regional manager Geoff Luscombe agreed, saying living off the land where Mr Neale was lost was quite possible, adding, “After all, Aboriginal people have survived here for thousands of years.”
Meanwhile celebrity agent Max Markson said Jamie Neale could command AUD$100,000 immediately if he sold his story.
“The tabloids in England want it and the magazines and TVs here all want to have him,” Mr Markson said.
UPDATE: JAMIE NEALE IN ‘MURDEROUS’ ROW WITH HIS DAD
I would like to know why Jamie’s father is not being charged for vandalising a cave in the Blue Mountains National Park (Re: Memorial)!!!???
By: Ess Zed on July 16, 2009
at 6:22 pm
According to information from authorities in the UK, Jamie Neale has a Duke of Edinburgh award and was a very experienced hiker. According to those who know him:
At school “he had a reputation as a resourceful young man”, and “blitzed the stage of his Duke of Edinburgh award during which he learned bush survival skills and had to find his way out of Epping Forest in Essex”. Although “he was lost in the forest, he made it back to safety in record time”.
Apparently, he was also lost in Snowdonia, but found his way out. (I was lost in Snowdonia with three others at the age of 13 on a school trip, but we found our way out without fanfare – and we’d never been on a trek before.)
It is also said that “he had an unusually high tolerance of the cold”.
Given all of the above, this smells very fishy to me. Added to which, tourists regularly “get lost” in the Australian bush or desert and are paid handsomely for their stories when found. It’s not at all surprising that people are sceptical.
By: Anne on July 16, 2009
at 10:30 pm
As an ex RAF Search and Rescue NCO and now a bushcraft and survival instructor I am amazed at how well he looks after 12 days in the bush. He looks a lot better than many people I’ve pulled of the hills.
A rule of thumb regarding survival is Three weeks without food, three minutes without air and three days without water.
He’s talked a lot about what food he found – initially he said that he ‘guessed’ at eating edible plants, he has since said that he knew the nuts he was eating where edible. An interesting change in his story. He has also made no mention of the most important thing that kept him alive how he obtained a clean source of water.
It’s since come out that he was an experienced walker and had completed his DofE award.
Given that he did everything wrong he is either very, very lucky or this is an elaborate hoax (this wouldn’t be the first time there have been ‘survival hoaxes’in the australian bush).
Either way, in my opinion any money he recieves for his story should go to the SAR forces, a SAR operation is not a cheap undertaking.
By: Brett Day on July 22, 2009
at 3:15 am
I totally agree with Brett Day. I have hiked in this region many many times and have also participated in SARs also in this region and this guys survival story does not make any sense and is totally unbelievable. In fact I would doubt that any bush walker would believe this story. I hope the Australian Police do a more thorough checking of the facts.
By: Francis on July 27, 2009
at 2:15 am