A young family, who went missing for two days while traveling from Queensland to New South Wales, was forced to drink water from a roadside puddle to survive and used a car mirror to get the attention of a search aircraft.
The harrowing details emerged on Tuesday night after Darian Aspinall, 27, her two kids Winter Bellamy, 2, and Koda Bellamy, 4, and their grandmother Leah Gooding, 50, were found safe and well on Tuesday, two days after they were last seen on Sunday.
The family were found near Tiboobura in NSW, and were being transported to hospital for assessment following an emotional reunion with Darian’s fiancé Linny Bellamy.
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Speaking with 7NEWS, Bellamy said his loved ones had to take drastic measures in order to survive in the outback of NSW.
That meant getting sustenance from a roadside puddle and making themselves visible to aircraft by using a car mirror
“I can’t believe they managed to stay as strong as they did… they looked after each other and just tried to ration everything out,” Linny said.
A visibly relieved Linny added that despite being “a bit tired”, his family seemed like their normal selves.
“My daughter said hello and told me she loved me… I haven’t spoken to my son yet, but I’ll speak to him soon,” he said.
The family were moving back to Adelaide, where they were originally from, after spending a year living in Queensland.
They embarked on the journey to Adelaide after leaving the Noccundra Hotel in southwest Queensland between 12.30pm and 3pm on Sunday and were heading to accommodation in the remote far northwest NSW township of Packsaddle along the way.
Linny told 7NEWS he was traveling behind the young family in a truck full of their belongings right before they went missing.
Linny says his family had taken a different route along the way, believing they could get through a road badly affected by the weather, despite advice against taking that road from hotel staff at the Tibooburra Hotel, near Packsaddle.
But when they failed to turn up at their destination, and Linny hadn’t heard from them, he contacted police.
“They’re my world… but I don’t know what I’d do without them,” he said.
In an update earlier on Tuesday, police said they had begun a major search across Tibooburra, Broken Hill, Wilcannia, Packsaddle and surrounds, with assistance from the Missing Persons Registry, and Queensland and South Australia Police.
But by Tuesday afternoon the missing quartet had been found.
“Following inquiries, a search and rescue helicopter located a vehicle off-track, about 50km southeast of Tibooburra, about 4.15pm on Tuesday,” NSW Police said in a statement.
– With Hannah Foord
Horrific moment child falls out of car window.
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