Australian emergency services have rescued a three-year-old boy three days after he went missing from his family's property.
Video footage released by New South Wales police showed the boy, Anthony 'AJ' Elfalak, scooping water into his mouth in a creek in Putty, around 150km northwest of Sydney, just before his rescue.
AJ was taken to hospital and was reported to have suffered some scrapes from a fall and a nappy rash.
Asked what had sustained him during the ordeal, the boy's relieved father Anthony Elfalak said: "Just to see my son, he's named after me."
It was unclear why AJ had wandered away from his parents' home.
A three-year-old child missing on a rural property in the Hunter region since Friday has been located following a large-scale search.https://t.co/VrlVwL4sYW pic.twitter.com/byOXFCiD1j
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) September 6, 2021
In a statement, police in Hunter Valley said they were alerted to AJ's disappearance at around 12.30pm local time on Friday, after he was last seen on the family's property at around 11.45am.
A multi-agency search, which included Trailbike officers, Police Rescue, The Dog and Mounted Unit, Police divers, and the PolAir helicopter, was launched.
Police were also assisted by NSW Ambulance, State Emergency Service, Rural Fire Service, and the Volunteer Rescue Association.
AJ was found today by the helicopter crew, who directed ground search crews to his location.
